A New 'Country'
by ovalzillao
Summary: Maybe being a new 'country' in Canada won't be the worst thing in the world for Prussia. Based on the rumor that Prussia is now a micro-nation in Ontario, Canada.
1. Meeting

"Wait, what the hell do you mean I'm a country again?"

Prussia, once again, had been 'asked' to go to the one the world meetings this time, which meant that his _bruder _would drag him over to what he considered boredom central and would make him stay still for as long as the meetings lasted. Although, when it came to staying still, after a few tries Germany had decided that the closest thing he could do to make his brother not talk for around 30 minutes was to occasionally make a break so that the energetic nation could get rid of overflowing energy.

As time went on, he had grown used to abundance of meetings ever since Germany had started to try to make it something he could do monthly, but that still didn't mean that these overly long meetings bored the hell out of him, and it never ceased to give him melancholic reminder that he are no longer considered a country. Which was the ultimate reason as to why Prussia never liked these meetings or ever found them necessary.

Yet, as he stood there with his mouth and eyes as wide open as everyone else's, he was being told that he was wrong. He was a nation again. Although, as he looked around with his thoughts going crazy to the idea that he's on the map again, his brother seemed as calm as ever.

"_Ja, _from what I understand so far," He then located his glasses to read a small sheet of paper nearby. "You are not exactly… Prussia… per say. Due to your nation now residing in an already existent nation, Canada, the official name has been changed to 'New Prussia' but your official name is still the Kingdom of Prussia, so not too much as changed."

Already, even though the murmurs of confusion and questions were in abundance before the explanation, it seemed to have all gone from his new nation to the oddity of hearing the existence of a country large enough to contain another one in it, yet none of them knowing who exactly it was that they were talking about. Prussia, on the other hand, was completely aware of who had given him the second opportunity to be a land once again.

Looking around the rather large meeting room, he figured it would make some sense that he wouldn't be able to find the quiet man. Especially ever since he discovered about his 'disappearing trick'.

Although, before him, or anyone else, could speak up about this surprising revelation, Germany had already begun to speak. "I apologize for the suddenness of this information, but we do not have anymore time to talk about this today. If anyone here has any questions about this that are important, please talk to…" He seemed to struggle to remember who he was talking about. "Yes… well… ehrm… please consult… Canada. Now, as promised at our last meeting, China will now follow up on what he had spoken about last time."

As China complained as he usually did, in his usual manner, the only unusual thing was how caught up Prussia had found himself in his thoughts. He had so many questions through his mind. Why did this information come up now? Even then, that wasn't as important as everything else. Why didn't Canadian tell him all of this himself? It wasn't as if they were strangers, although they could be considered acquaintances at best. What did this mean about his existence? He could barely think straight, and with the meeting only becoming background noise to all of his questions, he could only come up with one thing he could do.

Talk to the nation face to face.

* * *

Once the meeting was officially over, the first to leave was Germany and that little Italian of his talking wildly about pasta, with Japan trailing close behind. As a slow and steady stream of people started either leaving the meeting room or coming up to congratulate Prussia, he had kept an eye out for a curled strand of hair and glasses. As he was bombarded by France and Spain in congratulations, consisting of many hugs and high fives, he had thought that he had seen Canada walk by him. Sadly the only thing he was able to spot was his brother America as he started jabbering in England's ear.

Spain had come up behind the distracted Prussian and had wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Listen, _amigo_, it's fantastic that you've become a country again. Who would've guess, huh?" The Spaniard gave the other a slap on back, and Prussia had returned the favor with a sharp grin.

"Ah, well, I do congratulate you Gilbert." France had come out from behind the Spaniard in his regular dramatic entrances. "I think it's great that Matthieu would be kind enough as to let you become a country within his own. His kindness takes after me you know." He lightly sweeps a dark blond bang away from his face as he rests a hand on his hips. " I would recommend that you talk to him to make sure everything is settled, of course. Although, as much as I want to celebrate, I must bid _adieu_ my friends." He quickly leaves the room, in what anyone could assume was caused by finding someone who had fancied his tastes.

"I'm sorry as well, but if I don't leave soon, Romano might be mad at me again and I don't want that!" He starts snickering as he leaves the room, "Even if he does end up looking cute." The last thing to be heard was him cooing other 'compliments' about Romano before completely leaving the room.

* * *

After a while of updating his blog on his phone and lazing around while trying to stay in the room as long as he was capable of, his patience had started wearing thin, and he was starting to think he wouldn't appear today, but it was only after Russia had stood up to give him a quick, albeit awkward, congratulations and leave the meeting room, was he able to see Canada on the same chair with a look that made Prussia think he had only just then been able to regain breath. His speed to leave the meeting room was incredibly fast, as it appeared that he had been almost jogging, only to stop to adjust something and then continue his speed walk outside.

After getting near the meeting room door, Prussia had more countries notice his own presence which had caused them to start congratulating him as well, as by that time he had completely lost sight of the northern nation. While the last of the countries finished their own compliments to his renewed 'license' as a nation, he had been able to get Gilbird by whistling for him. As the small bird made a new residence in the others silver locks, Prussia could only think about why they don't allow his bird in the meeting room itself yet they can allow him in the building. As well as to how it doesn't make any sense as to why they don't allow pets even though Canada has a god damn polar bear and no one even bats an eyelash about that, not to mention the panda that China always tries to hide in the wicker basket he always has over his back.

He had ended up leaving the hotel where the meeting had been held in defeat and disappointment, believing that he was never going to be able to find the quiet country. Although, he figured he might as well go take a walk or something, think about what he would have to do now that he was a country or something like that anyways. Prussia really did need to ask Canada about what, or at least how, all of this happened and what 'responsibilities' he would have to take because of these new revelations. Of course, it's not like he really ever did too much work as Prussia before, so there shouldn't be that much of a difference, especially since there aren't too many battles to fight as of right now.

Prussia had figured that he might as well go back to his blog while waiting for Germany to come back and pick him up with his car, even though that might take a while since Italy usually drags him off who knows where and he more than likely won't be back for a while. All that Prussia can think about is that he really should get his own car, and house while he's at it.

Gilbird starts to tweet and starts pecking at his forehead, which had made him perk his head up to see what it was that Gilbird had wanted Prussia to pay attention to, which was when he noticed the familiar blonde curl, even if it was moving rather quickly. Before even having time to think, he had started trying to catch up to him, even it meant running, because Prussia completely refuses to lose the chance to talk to him about the world meeting today. Even yelling at him to try to get his attention didn't work, much to his surprise, since he was able get everyone else's yet not Canada's.

As he stopped, what Prussia believed, to admire some of the flower outside the building, it had given him the opportunity to finally be able to catch up to him. He had grabbed the Canadian's shoulder as he tried to regain his breath because it has been a while since he's run, and maybe this is a sign that he should join his brother on one of his training days some time soon. Before Prussia could explain himself and even get any words out of his mouth, Canada had already started talking.

"Um, if you're l-looking for my brother he's probably still around the meeting room." His face seemed to almost change into what seemed to be disappointment and confusion.

"I will never be looking for that un-awesome brother of yours. You are Canada, am I right?" It was a little odd that he would assume that he was looking for his brother, who in Prussia's own taste, was too loud and never had enough of an attention span to be able to even go along with something or someone without making all about himself. Of course, not saying that he himself didn't do that, but America's version of doing it wasn't subtle at all, and he always dragged whoever was nearest to him into the awful situations he would be able to come up.

As the Canadian realized that he was the person that Prussia had wanted to talk to, it was at that moment that he had thought that he had never seen so much joy and surprise on someone's face all at the same time.

* * *

**Translation**

bruder - brother

amigo - friend

adieu - bye

(Updated 7/13/14: changed story from second person to third person limited, done in Prussia's view)

(Updated 4/19/15: story has been revised and edited + hiatus is over)

So I had decided to update this chapter a bit and fix it since it seemed a little short to me and it didn't flow as smooth as I had originally wanted it to. A few of these earlier chapters should be getting a few tweaks and fixes here and there, so I hope I can fix those in time. For the moment, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and remember to comment and tell me what you liked and if there's anything you think I should improve on! (*´∀`*)


	2. Plans

His voice was nearly unheard. "I apologize for being rude Prussia, but what did you need to talk to me about?"

This only confused the nation. He didn't even seem to acknowledge or even know that he was now a country inside of his own. It wasn't possible that he didn't know… right?

"I just wanted to ask you about me being a nation again. Didn't you hear my _bruder_ during the meeting talking about how now I'm awesomely 'living' in your country now?" He stood triumphantly as he spoke, he had never heard of a dead nation coming back again, so he must've been at least a little important!

"I'm sorry Prussia, I really am, but you're not technically a country. You're kinda only considered a micronation at best. Since a lot of people, including my government, haven't given you the full credentials yet." He looked away to keep from eye contact. He whispered, guilt filling his voice. "I'm sorry."

This really did shock Prussia. He was still not a nation. Although, he could think of it as a somewhat good thing since he was still a micronation at both worst and best. It's definitely not what he would've ever prefered, but it was better than nothing if he was being honest.

His pride deflated a bit, but he refused to let it show. Waving his hand a bit, he felt like trying to ward off any bad feelings that could be left between them. "Don't sweat about it, Canada." He put both hands on his hips. "This still doesn't mean that I'm not the awesome Prussia that we all know and love!"

A light chuckle from Canada brought a smile to his face, and the awkward atmosphere disappeared almost immediately. When he was given eye contact, the first thing Prussia noticed was the odd color of his eyes. Violet. The color seem as if it was nearly gray, yet they shone bright enough to ward off any confusion to their true nature. They weren't a royal purple like Austria's usual coat, but they were still beautiful none the less.

"Hey, you think you're up to walking around for a bit?"

The quiet nation looked a bit surprised, but still nodded his head for a 'yes'.

* * *

While the two walked around the garden surrounding the hotel they were still outside of, while being accompanied by both Kumajirou and Gilbird, Prussia had learned a little bit about Canada.

Since they really only talked on April Fools when he was given maple syrup, the most he had known since then was that they both agreed that it was heavenly.

Yet in just a few minutes of chatter, he already learned a few things: he was the dictionary definition of in love, except with hockey. He also lived in the rural area of Ottawa, since, while he likes the city life, he prefers to be near nature. Something that had surprised Prussia was that Canada actually liked art quite a lot, even going as far as painting on the occasion if he ever had time to spare.

"Prussia?"

He had been taken out of his train of thought when the other began to speak. "What? Oh, yeah, sorry."

"You look a little out of it. Are you alright?"

His voice was stronger than usual. It seemed that way ever since they began to talk. It was still close to a whisper for others, but it made Prussia a bit happy that they were already growing more comfortable with each other.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hey…"

Canada looks at him with what could be compared to doe eyes, and Prussia nearly stutters as he feels his heart rate increase. Why was he so nervous? He was hardly friends with him, yet he was having the most trouble he'd ever had over trying to form a complete sentence. He fought many nations, even when he was a kid, yet possibly saying the wrong thing sounds scarier than any of the battles had gone through.

"I wanted to know if I could come over and visit you in Canada some time, y'unno, if I can."

He was surprised by the question, but as quick as was his reaction, so was his answer. "Yes!" He paused at the realization of his enthusiasm. "I mean, you don't have to though."

"I think it would be amazing! Just tell me when's a good time to visit."

"Well… there's another meeting tomorrow, but I don't have to do anything this Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! But I guess that's basically the weekend." He places a few stray bangs behind his his left ear.

"It's a plan! I'll make sure to see you tomorrow and then we can plan out everything and everything, alright!

"Sure!" He bent down to pick up his already snoozing bear, and then turned away from Prussia. Waving with his free hand as he walked, he said his goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He had such a bright smile as he waved goodbye, that Prussia did the same as well.

He wasn't sure why, but he looked forward to simply making plans to visit the nation. He continued thinking to himself 'das ist dumm', but he refused to stop smiling.

* * *

**Translation**

'Das ist dumm' - This is stupid

'Bruder' - Brother

Hello! While this is only chapter 2, I hope all of you so far are enjoying it! I'm still not sure on how long I want to make this story, but I do want Prussia and Canada's growing relationship seem more natural so it may be a while before anything big happens. Sorry that this one is so short!

If anything, please review and let me know what you guys think about this story!


	3. Introductions

Once Prussia had been able to get to his brother's home, which mean that he would be able to get to his bedroom in the basement without seeing over excessive displays of any affection between Germany and Italy, it was already dark out and the only thing on his mind was to sleep. Of course, him getting to bed at an abnormally early hour only meant that he would get up in the morning at an abnormally early hour as well. While by the time he had woken up his brother was already up, there would never be a chance for him to beat him when it comes to things like this.

Once he said good morning to Gilbird and was able to feed him his breakfast, the sound of his own stomach reminded him that he needed food of his own as well.

As he walked up the stairs from the basement, to the living room, and then to the kitchen, he saw Ludwig already eating his own breakfast and reading the newspaper. He had no idea where Italy could be.

"Luddy!"

There he was. He was rushing down the stairs and seemed to be way too loud in Prussia's opinion. He would never be able to understand how anyone would have so much energy at only… 9 in the morning. Oh.

"Luddy! I can't find the cross necklace you gave me! I'm so, so, so, sorry! I feel so bad!" He begun sniffling and both Germany and Prussia could see that tears had begun to prickle his eyes.

With a sigh, Germany grabbed Italy's shoulders. "Feliciano, calm down." His voice was as stern as ever, but was able to be soft and calm as well. "You need to remember that I had taken it yesterday to properly clean it for you." He stated as he held up a glistening German cross charm on a thin metallic chain. "Honestly, Feliciano, I had told you I was going to take it for a while."

Italy continued to sniffle, but it lessened. "Ve… I'm sorry Luddy." He got closer to the German. "Can I still get my good morning hug?" He was in a quiet and nearly embarrassed tone.

"_Ja_,of course, Feliciano."

Now Prussia could remember why he never really enjoyed waking up early at his brother's home. At first this was tolerable because his brother would only allow for Italy to visit after meetings, then it from that to whenever, then he could visit to eat with them, then to stay over for nights, then days, nearly weeks, and from then on it seemed as if they moved in with each other. The only reason he hadn't was that his brother would be left alone in their house in Italy, except Romano used that house less than Italy did. It never helped either that he had such a loud voice in a house that had wafer thin walls.

Prussia cleared his throat as the two hugged, causing for both of them to look at him.

"Ah, Gilbert, I didn't know you were awake by now." Prussia assumed his brother was referencing to how he would never be awake before noon unless there was a 'mandatory' monthly meeting he would need to go to, like the one from yesterday.

"Ve… _buona sera_ Gilbert!" Italy says in a more cheerful tone, compared to the man he hugged. "I don't usually see you awake this early." He claims, still clinging to Germany. "What's the occasion?"

"There isn't a reason, but, West, I wanted to know if you could give me lift over to the meeting today."

As soon as the words left his mouth, both Italy and Germany were left with their eyes wide open.

"Gilbert, this seems very sudden, for you to go to any type of meeting I suppose, but is there something that happened yesterday?"

"_Verdammt _West, can't I just wake up early one day as say I'm going to a damn meeting once in a while? And I mean, don't I have to go since I'm a country, anyways?" As far as Prussia was aware, neither of the two knew of his status as a micro-nation, so he figured it wouldn't hurt a bit to milk the feeling of saying he was a nation for a little while.

He got a few inquisitive looks from the two axis powers and he decided it would be better to simply go to the kitchen before any questions of his odd behaviour were asked.

As Prussia went into the kitchen to make any breakfast he could scrounge up, along with coffee made by Italy, a glance at the kitchen clock let him know that if he didn't move quick he wouldn't be able to get a ride from his brother.

By the time he was down in his room then back up to the living room, Germany was helping Italy tie his shoes, all of them nearly ready to leave.

* * *

Arriving to the hotel in their host country, it being Belgium for the remaining day, the first thing Prussia did after getting close to the meeting room they were booked to use was search for Canada. The only advantage to Germany was insisting that being 'on time' was actually you being 15 minutes late was that it made it easier to see what nation would be the next to arrive.

Hearing Gilbird, who had accompanied him, give a few chirps was how he noticed Canada walking up to him.

"Prussia?"

Looking down to see a smiling face, before he could even manage a single sound, France had walked in from seemingly nowhere and had begun to talk to Canada, grabbing him by the shoulders and leading him to the meeting room.

"_Matthew_, _les réunions sur le point de commencer_, _vous asseoir avec moi_?"

"_Oui_, _Papa_." His face shows defeat as he was dragged along with the Frenchman, while he turned his head back to give Prussia an apologetic look. To which he waved his hand back and mouthed the words 'don't worry'.

It's almost in an instant that Canada was taken into the meeting room and he was able to find himself left alone with Gilbird. While he starts to walk towards the meeting room, Prussia puts his small yellow bird by the doorway. "I'll see you later, alright?" Prussia says as he rubs his chin.

As soon as he entered and was able to sit down, a few countries that had only been recently informed of Prussia's new nationalism walked towards him to give him congratulations. Just as he did yesterday, he refused to acknowledge that his eyes were watering up.

Once everyone had been able to sit down, and Belgium had been able to introduce the topics of the meeting for the day, France and England had begun to go at each other's necks again.

"You wanker! You're still not over me denying your marriage proposal are you?"

"_Mon cher_, why would I be mad over some pompous asshole who simply can't admit his feelings for _moi_?"

While many other nations had begun to laugh and snicker at the usual argument taking place, Prussia had suddenly felt something hit his head. Discovering a hastily folded slip of paper, it had the word 'Canada' written on it; the identity easily revealed. As Prussia's gaze went from the folded paper to the Northern Nation, Canada only feigning innocence with a small smile on his face. Opening up the sheet for curiosities sake, a rather crude but somehow well drawn drawing of the two bickering nations immediately had Prussia laughing. His laugh was nearly immediately drowned out though due to the meeting room's usual fighting and arguing.

As soon as the meeting was able to calm down, Germany was able to start talking about anything that they originally planned to talk about, and by the end of it, they finished in record time.

Once the meeting room was nearly empty, a few countries taking their time to walk out of the building, Prussia walked over to Canada as he put away some folders full of ideas that appeared to have gone unheard for the day. Humming to himself as the nation continued to finish up getting himself organised, giving a short hum as well to show that he was well of the country anxiously waiting for him to finish behind him.

"So…"

"Oui?"

"I wanted to know if you were still up to me visiting you up in Canada and shit or not."

His voice was quiet and he had an appreciative expression on him. "Prussia, I would love for you to visit. You don't have to ask twice."

The words were nearly inaudible, barely letting them reach Prussia's ears, but once they were heard, a smile was plastered on his face.

"Great!" With just a simple word, the excitement in it was enough to make the Canadian excited as well; a toothy grin with shining teeth.

Once they finished getting organized, then after picking up Kumajirou who had been sleeping underneath the large desk, they were able to leave the room.

Whistling, Prussia was able to catch the attention of Canada, as a small yellow bird landed in his silver locks. As if it was an everyday thing.

"Prussia?"

"Yeah?"

"You know you have a bird on your head, right?"

"What?" He paused for a moment. "Oh! You mean Gilbird! I haven't properly introduced the two of you yet have I?" Reaching the top of his head, the bird moved to perch itself atop of two fingers.

Gesturing to his bird, he spoke. "Canada, this is _mien _awesome Gilbird." Then he gestured to the blond. "Gilbird, this is Canada."

The northern nation moved a hand towards the bird. "Could I pet him?" A nod for a 'yes', and the bird already began to get as close to the Canadian as he could. As he continued to giggle, murmuring that his feathers tickled, the bird sounded satisfied as it moved from his hand, to his arm, shoulder, and then the top of the blond locks. Reaching to grab the bird out of his hair with a gentle grasp, he begun to laugh. "He's really cute, you know."

Letting his bird move once again to land atop one of his shoulders, Prussia only remained a bit surprised.

"I've never seen him do that before, y'unno?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that he barely ever gets close to people, or animals. That must certify that you are completely and totally awesome if he likes you that much." As if he were agreeing, the bird momentarily whistled.

They lost eye contact for a moment as Prussia smiled and Canada tried to let his cheeks cool down from their sudden redness. Speaking after a moment, the Canadian looked up at the Prussian again.

"You know that I can just call ahead so that you can come over to Canada tomorrow. It wouldn't be any trouble since I have my phone here and everything."

"Shit. Thanks! I always forget that nations can just snap their fingers and basically anything in your country is done asap."

A quick phone call was made, along with a few questions, and the plane ride was ready to go for tomorrow.

"I'll just go over to West's house and get my stuff ready. I'll see you tomorrow alright?"

After they both parted ways, a small goodbye from Canada with a yawn and rather rude comment from Kumajirou, then a loud goodbye from Prussia with a chirp from Gilbird, the Prussian was left wondering what he would even need to visit Canada for four days.

* * *

**TRANSLATION-**

bruder - brother

ja - yes

verdammnt - damn

mien - my

Matthew, les réunions sur le point de commencer, vous asseoir avec moi? - Matthew, the meeting is about to start, will you sit by me?

Oui, Papa - yes, papa

moi - me

mon cher - my dear

I was finally able to finish the chapter! I originally meant for all of the chapters to be around this long, but no matter, this should be the average length of the rest of the chapters. I hope you all enjoyed it! As for if any of you were wondering if I would use human names, I will but it will come later for Prussia and Canada since I prefer for names to only be used by people you're close to, which is also why Prussia calls Italy just by that and not by Feliciano. Remember to review and tell me what you think of this chapter and the story! （￣ー￣)


	4. Arrival

Prussia had driven home (well, more like he had payed for a taxi, but still) and was able to arrive at nearly nine at night. The house was unusually quiet, almost as if nobody lived there, but with Italy dragging Germany to god knows where, it only left Prussia with an easier chance of being undisturbed. As soon as he was able to get to his room, he began to pack.

Even if he had to call Canada for a moment to ask what he would need, and then realizing that maybe he would need either better jackets that weren't only varied leather ones or more scarves. The conversation was quick, and considering the fact that it had taken Prussia nearly an hour to find his brothers contact book of all the nations and then track down Canada's own number, he wasn't exactly sure what he had expected the call to have become.

Once he was able to finish his packing, feed Gilbird, get ready for bed, set an alarm, go to sleep, wake up believing he forgot to pack something, check it once more in a panic, and finally go into a deep sleep, he was woken up at six in the mornin. He felt as if he hadn't slept at all, yet his enthusiasm for the visit still gave him enough energy to get ready and go to the airport.

Arriving an hour or so early, then hoping that he could make up any sleep on the eight hour plane ride, he ended up not feeling as tired as he originally thought he was. Even with the airport still full of it's usual commutes filled with worried people hoping they don't have to wait a few hours for a late ride, it was still not as bad as it could have been.

After the luggage had been retrieved and Gilbird was made sure to have been okay in his ride on the plane, Prussia then tried to call Canada on his phone. While he wasn't able to hear a single beep or even pick up a signal, he still tried to locate the nation, at least until he was able to see the familiar light blond curl.

As the albino snuck up behind him, he grabbed him from behind and gave him the biggest and tightest bear hug he could've possibly managed. The shocked Canadian let out a squeal as he was lifted off of the floor, then he turned around to see who had surprised him so much. His bewildered expression left the Prussian laughing and snickering at what he had caused.

After only of second of finally recognizing who he was looking at, the nation began to smile after he realized there was no need to have been so scared.

"Thank goodness it's only you, Prussia! You really surprised me!"

"I can do that to anyone! After all, I am the awesome Prussia!" He stood beaming in his pride.

After moving back his glasses onto the bridge of his nose once he noticed them slip, Prussia took the opportunity to notice his attire: simple dark skinny jeans, and a large red hoodie with a generic white maple leaf on it, nearly oversized enough that the sleeves nearly covered his hands completely and was nearly beyond comically large on him that it appeared cute on him.

"Well, it's a little crowded don't you think?" Canada's voice was barely heard as he tried to lead Prussia through the airport, constantly bumping into a multitude of people he constantly tried to apologize to as he spoke. Prussia wasn't exactly sure why the nation insisted on apologizing to people who barely heard him, but he didn't mention it. "We can just go to my car in the parking lot. Come with me."

Once the two were able to leave the airport, the brisk autumn air was (literally) a breath of fresh air to Prussia when compared to the recycled air that quickly became stale only an hour into his flight.

After finding the car by the entrance, putting the luggage in the trunk, and getting Gilbird out of his cage and onto his usual spot in the silver locks, they were able to get into the car and drive to the nation's home.

Mindlessly toying with his fingers as he looked out the window of the car, his attention was drawn to the Canadian.

"Hey, Prussia?"

He was able to look away from the rather amazing scenery they were quickly passing by, surprisingly leaving the city at a quick pace.

His voice was quiet. "You know… you can call me Matthew. But only if you want! I mean… you don't have to if you don't want to."

"If I can call you Mattie, than you can call me Gilbert!" He answered in a sing-songy voice.

Prussia only glanced at the Canadian before he was able to notice the slight redness in his cheeks as he nodded his head for an 'ok'.

"I hope you don't mind the long car ride, I live rather far from the city." He paused. "I live closer to the forest than my own capital now that I actually think about it." He softly smiled as what seemed to be rather funny to him.

"Don't worry about it!" Prussia gives his usual laugh that sounded more like a snicker. "I'd rather be near the forest anyways. The city is always so stuffy and congested to me since it's always so full."

Relieved at the pleasant answer, Canada simply returned to the wheel as the ride remained quiet, but comfortable.

Once they're extremely into the woods, the car stops in front of a cabin and Prussia finally discovers where the nation actually lives.

Realizing that they're nearly on a mountain, his house appeared to be a spacious and rather modern looking cabin. It was surrounded by the nature near it, and while it was in what felt like the middle of no where, it was somehow still able to keep a rather 'home-y' vibe to itself. Although it's surrounding was completely rural, that still didn't keep the nation from renovating it a bit.

Prussia really hadn't realized that he had been staring for a while at the house.

"Gilbert? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but you never told me you had such an awesome house!" Even Gilbird had chirped in agreement as he flew around the two in surprise.

He chuckled as he spoke. "Oh, thank you, although, you should see the houses that people like Alfred have. Those are the ones that are pretty amazing, and not to mention pretty huge." Walking towards the house, he called out to Prussia, who had continued to stare at the house in pure awe. "You coming? Oh, and I wanted to know if you're hungry, I mean, I can imagine that the plane ride was long and it won't be an issue if you want some food right now."

The thought of eating left the Prussian salivating, and the thought of it being something that the Canadian would make left him in a worse state. "Can I have some of those pancakes you make? With a ton of that awesome maple syrup that you have!"

He replied with a smile. "Alright. Although we should take your luggage inside before we start eating or get comfortable."

After going inside and receiving a miniature tour of what they passed by, only really talking about the stairs and the guest bedroom, Prussia was left in the guestroom and the Canadian went downstairs to make the requested pancakes. The room that he was in was rather simple, but with soft cream colors it didn't seem too bland. Placing the few clothes he brought with him in the bedside drawers and setting down the birdcage beside it, he was called down to the kitchen, Canada's voice barely heard. With the little information he had of the second floor, he became a bit lost but ended up finding the stairs after some effort.

Successfully getting to the kitchen, he made a ridiculous pose as he proclaimed his arrival. "I have arrived."

He heard Canada giggling at the rather odd joke, and that was when the pastel and pink, frilly apron that was adorned on him had come into vision. He flustered a bit at the rather cute look it brought to the blond. How could someone look that good in something like that?

Noticing how the albino gawked at him, he realized the reason behind it and began to untie the straps behind him. He blushed as he spoke. "Oh, sorry about the apron," His voice was as quiet as ever. "It was the only one I had left and I didn't want to get anything dirty…" He began to loosen the strap on the back of his neck.

"N-no! I mean," Before he could even realize what he had been saying, he started blabbering about what he could to make the other feel a little less self conscious. "It's not embarrassing… I mean… it looks cute on you, Mattie." He became more and more flushed as each word left his mouth. Fuck, had he really just said that?

Both were now blushing heavily as the words lingered in the air.

"H-how about we just eat right now… uhm… other than maple syrup, what else would you want?" He was nearly desperately trying to change the subject and Prussia was as grateful as ever.

Doing his best as well, Prussia walked towards the fridge.

"It wouldn't be too late for beer… you got any?"

"I probably should, most of it's American since whenever Al comes over he always tells me my Canadian beer isn't good enough." As he spoke, he seemed almost annoyed. "I can't stand what he makes me buy so I have a tendency to leave it alone. Then of course if _Papa_ ever comes over he always brings his own alcohol…"

"Well, at least you know that your beer is better than that American crap. Maybe not as good as mine... but…"

"Is that meant to offend me?"

He shot a toothy grin. "Maybe…"

"Hmm… well, while I would love to argue with you about this, I have a hockey game I've planned on watching and I hope you'll understand when I ask you to eat in the living room with me."

Gilbird, who had remained rather quiet throughout the day, chirped at the idea.

"I don't mind, and the dining room looks a little too formal anyways."

* * *

**Translation**

natch - night

gott - god

Hell yeah! I was able to finish this and get to the word count goal! I'm hoping that I'm making this story flow smoothly. As for Prussia and Canada's interactions, I had always imagined for Prussia to be very loose and be casual about many things and Canada as well. There's not much to say right now, but I hope you guys are enjoying it so far! Remember to review and tell me what you think of it so far! (ʃƪ ˘ ³˘)


	5. Ice Skating

As they both sat on a cream colored couch that didn't seem very worn out or used, while Prussia was idly drinking a beer he found 'ok', Canada was enthralled with the hockey game on the screen. From what Prussia was able to tell from his basic knowledge of the game, they were an hour into the game and both of the teams were still tied. Although, this could also explain how Canada was reacting after every dodge or misstep that an athlete would do, whether it be the opposing team or not. Yet, soon enough, once his team had scored a point, Canada was yelling and jumping up and down while exclaiming something that was too quick for Prussia to really understand. Once his little show was over, he sat back down on the couch and then froze.

Turning to his right, he realized Prussia saw everything he had done in the span of a minute.

"You really hockey? Don't you Mattie?"

His face a bit flushed from the embarrassment of being seen being rather loud and what could be considered out of character, he refused to maintain eye contact for very long as he spoke quietly. "Just because I look quiet doesn't mean games like this doesn't make me excited." He paused for a moment before speaking again, this time his embarrassment vanishing. "Have you ever gone ice skating?"

"Uhmm…" Has he ever even thought of doing that? "... No?"

"Was that a question?"

"No."

"So you've gone skating."

"No."

"Well, there's an outdoor skating rink around here, near a park, and I wanted to know if you would be up to going there tomorrow."

Gilbird chirped at the idea.

"Well, if Gilbird thinks it's a good idea, then let's do it!" He chuckled as he finished off his beer while watching Kumajirou slowly walking over to Canada.

"Who are you?"

The nation could be heard sighing rather loudly and dejected, and Prussia couldn't help but feel a bit pissed that the bear couldn't remember his owner's name. "I'm Canada. Remember?"

The only reply was that the bear was tired and wanted to go to sleep.

"Sorry Gil, but if it's alright, I need to go put Kumajako to sleep and get ready for bed or he won't stop bothering either of us all night."

"Ja, I get it so don't worry. '_Natch_." Prussia replied as he begun to go up the stairs to the guest room as Canada picked Kumajirou up while turning off the living room tv.

* * *

Waking up in the morning, it was only because of the delicious smelling breakfast wafting from the kitchen, and this was able to get the albino out of bed without hesitation. After he brushed his teeth and fed his bird rather hastily, he rushed down the stairs (almost tripping a few times) because _gott_ was he starving.

"Morgen, Mattie." He immediately slid over to the stove top where Canada was cooking a breakfast that had the lovely smell of bacon and pancakes all over it.

"Good morning, Gilbert." He turned only to smile before returning his attention the the pan he was using. "How many pancakes do you want?"

"As many as you can make!"

He gave off a sarcastic gaze to the reply. "Alright, but does that mean you want as much maple syrup too?"

Prussia was already sitting down at the kitchen's small dining bar with a fork in his hand as his mouth began to water. "Of course. It's only common sense."

"Well, I hope you can survive on only a dozen or so pancakes and whatever syrup I have in my pantry." He states as he hands the other a full plate as he himself sits down besides Prussia with a similar dish.

By the time Canada was done with his own substantially smaller serving, Prussia had already gone through a few seconds and thirds himself.

"You know, tasting your food would be a pretty good idea."

"But then how can I eat more I spend my time actually tasting it."

Canada began to laugh as he grabbed the dirty dishes and placed them in the dishwasher.

That was also when Prussia noticed what he had on: fleece pyjama pants and a hoodie that was similar to yesterdays, covered with a bit of flour but with no apron in sight.

"How come you're not wearing that frilly apron you had on yesterday? I thought you didn't like it if your clothes got messy like that."

The northern nation began to blush slightly, "W-well, I mean, I just figured that…" He tried to look away even though he knew it would be rather rude to simply dodge the question completely. "J-just 'cause…"

He was interrupted before he could struggle any further.

"Hey, listen," Prussia tried to get back eye contact, but the other seemed to refused entirely. ""I didn't mean to get you embarrassed, honestly I've seen my own _bruder_ wear more embarrassing things." He starts chuckling at the ridiculous memories and is able to get back Canada's attention.

"Well, what did he wear? He doesn't look like someone who would just go around and wear lacy and frilly things."

Prussia starts laughing harder. "But that's exactly what he did! I mean, you should hear about the shit Feliciano gets him to do!"

Soon enough, the awkward atmosphere left the house and Prussia began to tell what seemed to be endless stories of the embarrassing antics from his brother and then later on all of the nations during April Fools Day. Since Canada had simply left the whole day alone, he was incredibly interested in everything that happened that day.

"If you didn't do it… was it because you never got an outfit or something?"

"No, I did."

Prussia started laughing. "Now you've gotta tell me what it was!"

"Some school girl outfit or something. Kiku bought it off of me a while back so it wasn't too much of a loss."

Wiggling his eyebrows, Prussia jokingly leaned closer. "And you didn't show me?"

"You missed your chance a year ago." Canada retorted.

* * *

After finishing cleanup and feeding Kumajirou, both went upstairs to change. They were as quick to arrive to the ice rink as they were to realize it was almost empty. A few skaters lingered around the rink, but most were sitting down on a bench here and there simply talking to one another.

"Usually it's pretty full, but I guess that's because most of them come at night on Saturdays, and since it gets really cold for an outside rink."

Soon enough they were putting on their skates and walking towards the rink.

Skating seemed easy enough to Prussia. He was able to walk on the concrete floor with no issue, so it wouldn't be too difficult to skate. Except the moment he reached the ice he slipped.

"Heilige Scheiße Mattie was solls, es hat nicht lange suchen im Fernsehen!" Canada was heard laughing as he skated around him.

"I don't know what you said but I can definitely tell you've never ice skated before!" He started grinning while trying to help Prussia get back up on his feet and stand up, which wasn't the easiest thing for either of them since the albino continued sliding around.

"Okay grab my hand and I'll help you learn how to skate alright?" Canada took one of his hands out of his pockets and waited for the other to grab it.

Prussia ended up looking hesitant about the whole thing and tried to hide any shades of red his pale skin could show. "Alright, but how do I keep my balance?" He tried to reach for a nearby railing as he spoke.

Try being the key word.

He ended up slipping completely and bringing down the blond with him.

Even though the fall hurt a little bit, both were able to laugh about it, and to Prussia, it was pretty endearing.

"How about I help you get up and then I explain?"

After around an hour or so, Prussia was finally able to keep his balance, but he could barely skate distances. The younger kids who couldn't be older than ten years kept skating around Prussia and giggling while Canada tried to calm him down so that wouldn't start getting too annoyed by the teasing remarks.

"Don't you think skating is fun?"

Even though he had many new bruises adorning his ass, skating was pretty nice. It was fun to do and to look at. Especially when he was able to convince the Canadian to show off the skills both knew he had: spins, jumps, you name it, he seemed perfect at it.

"_Ja, _I admit, this is pretty awesome."

"Well, it's almost dark out, and I need to finish a ton of paperwork that Alfred will need by morning. If it's alright with you, do you mind if we go home?"

They both started heading towards the rink's exit. "Yeah, don't worry, I'm getting a little hungry, we can go right n-" Prussia ended up tripping while going down the three steps that led to the exit of the rink.

Canada was laughing again. "I thought I taught you how to balance!"

"_Nien,_ you taught me how to balance on the ice, and I was just distracted by something is all."

He could see the nation rolling his eyes. "Sure. Now let's get to the car, I'm starting to get cold." He was visibly shaking a bit.

"I'll give you my jacket then!" Prussia put his jacket over the other before he had a chance of protesting.

His face started getting a little red, "Thank you."

The walk to the car was peaceful and quiet, but had a nice atmosphere, same with the car ride home. As they reached the house, Prussia realized he was pretty happy that he visited Canada.

* * *

**TRANSLATION**

Ja - yes

Morgen - morning

Heilige Scheiße Mattie was solls, es hat nicht lange suchen im Fernsehen! - Holy shit Mattie what the hell, it didn't look hard on tv!

Alright, so I wasn't able to upload yesterday, but Ill still try to keep this updated every other day, but to make up for it, I'll upload a chapter tomorrow as well! Personally, I love the whole 'loved one give the other their jacket' thing, and I love ice skating, so why not put them together! I hope you guys liked this chapter.

Remember to review and tell me watch you think was good and what I should improve on! (づ￣ ³￣)づ


	6. Paperwork

After arriving to Canada's house and feeding Gilbird, who had been kept at home due to the extremely cold weather, the Northern nation immediately went to a small office room on the first floor. Prussia had gone up to the guest room to put on some pajamas; flannel pants and a black t shirt. After returning downstairs, he had walked by the office door to notice a pile of paperwork larger than he could've imagined. It was nearing a few feet and finishing a single sheet looked like it was taking a ridiculous amount of time for Canada to finish.

Interrupting his work for a moment, Prussia spoke. "Mattie? Is this work you're supposed to be doing, or is it things America forgot to do?"

His eyebrows began scrunching up in irritation. He knew that this would be something that the nation would do to his brother. Hell, Prussia's even heard of his own brother getting the short end of the stick when it came to work with the American. There wasn't really a time afterwards that he wasn't called a _faulen arsch._

With Canada's rather push-over personality, he could see why America would try to get his brother to do his work, but that didn't mean that to Prussia it was a dick move.

"What? O-oh well I just f-figured, since Alfred needed these d-done and he forgot them here, I-I just figur-"

He was cut off before he could continue to try to excuse his brothers actions.

"No way can anyone just 'forget' that much paperwork! He thinks he can just take advantage of you and get away with it!" Prussia began to walk over to the living room and then towards the house phone. "What's that bastard's number! I'll fucking go over there myself if I have to! How long will it take until this guy starts actually doing his _gott_ _scheiß_ _verdammt _work for once!" Soon enough, he began to rant a bit more. "At one point, he tried to get me to do his work! Could you believe him?"

As he stood by the coffee table waiting for the nation to pick up the phone, he could see Canada smiling.

"Gilbert, it's sweet that you're worrying about me," He began to walk towards the phone's base. "But really you don't have to. He does this all the time anyway, so just let him be." Before he could press the 'end call' button, America answered the phone.

"Yo, Mattie, what's up?"

"_Hallo, _this is Prussia actually." There was a momentary pause.

"Dude? How'd you get over to my bro's? What are you even doing there anyways? I'll kick your ass if you try anything funny!"

"_Nien_, I'm not doing anything like that. What I'm calling for is because I want to know why you're making Mattie do all of your work? Are you that much of an _arsch_?"

Canada began trying to reach for the phone before anything could get worse, but Prussia simply kept him at arms length by lightly pushing him away at his chest. In his frustration he stuck his tongue out at the other, who just snickered in response.

"You better not fucking be, and anyways, it's none of your damn business if he does shit for me or not. Call me some other time, alright?" Before Prussia could answer he spoke. "See ya." And then hung up.

Sighing heavily, Prussia returned the phone to it's receiver and then turned over to Canada.

"You know your brother is a complete _arsch_, right?"

Canada simply shrugged in response. "Sure, but what can you do?"

With a smile, he returned to his office, and then Prussia decided to follow him as well.

"At least let me help you or something. I wouldn't feel too good just seeing you do all of this shit without any help."

"Do my ears deceive me? Is Gilbert, otherwise known as the dangerous and selfish nation of Prussia, actually lending a hand to help?" He starts looking at the albino with a cheeky smile.

"Yeah, well, marvel at it, 'cause it won't be happening again soon." He grabbed a chair and accompanied Canada at his desk.

"Darn, I was hoping you would be able to do stuff like this all the time, and just do any house work that I need to do." He began fluttering his eyes to pretend he was trying to convince Prussia of something.

"The day I work for nothing in return is the day England can actually cook." He began looking for a pencil or pen.

Canada smiled and passed him a pen. "Well, we can only pray."

* * *

The conversation ended up being rather short lived, and the paperwork made the two of them stay up until four in the morning, but it actually made Prussia feel good that he helped Canada

Both of them ended up sleeping in the living room, too tired to go upstairs and get to bed. Prussia had woken up on the floor while Canada resided on the sofa, who looked pretty comfortable. As the albino start to get up off the floor and walk to the bathroom, he heard the blond move and mumble something about his glasses. Noticing them by him, he promptly placed them on the bridge of the other's nose, trying not to poke him with either ends of the frames.

Waking up, his voice was a bit lower than usual. "'ood mornin'." It was also at that moment that he realized he was in the living room, and started apologizing at a speed that seemed impossible to Prussia. "I'm so sorry that I made you do all of that work! I feel so bad, you are my guest a-after all, and shouldn't have l-let you help me with all of that. Y-your back must be s-sore from sleeping on the floor. I-m s-sorr-" His stuttering returned, and Prussia cut him off before he could continue.

"Mattie, you don't need to worry about it okay? I wanted to help you, so I did." He gave him his hand to help him get out off of the couch.

"Okay, but at least let me make you breakfast to make up for having you stay up late with me doing work." He gets off the couch and heads up to, what Prussia presumed was, his bedroom.

Accepting the offer, he trailed a little behind the other as they both returned to their respective bedrooms.

Scarfing down the breakfast that Canada was able to make, the nation spoke.

"I still think that you should try to actually taste your food."

"We've already had this conversation. I refuse to eat less, even if that means I can't taste anything."

"Alright, but if you choke, that's not on my conscience."

Snickering before he continued to eat, Prussia couldn't help but wonder why he never thought of the other as funny. Or even why others never really hung out with him outside of world meetings. Before he could say anything, he heard Canada whine a little before clicking his tongue.

"Maple, I need to go to the market and buy food. Gil, is there anything you would want for later?"

"I guess it depends on what they've got. But maybe a little more beer won't kill me."

"Hmm… There should be a farmer's market around here. Maybe we can find something good."

Nodding along, they go upstairs to get dressed and meet up again in the living room. Getting into the car, the ride was short and they found the market in no time.

"We mostly need what's on the list, which they almost always have, but if you see something you want then I can get it for you." Canada says as he starts looking at a short list the length of his hand.

Getting excited, Prussia went around the market as he looked for anything he thought would be good to eat. By the time he was done with his little scavenger hunt Canada was already waiting for him by one of the cashiers. Once they bought what they needed, they returned home as quickly as they had come.

Arriving home and carrying the grocery bags to the kitchen, Gilbird began chirping at their return to the house.

"Oh, hey there Gilbird." The small yellow bird ends up resting on Canada's head as he continues to happily chirp.

"Well, maybe I should just call you 'birdie' because he looks like he's taken a liking to you!" Prussia began to chuckle.

A light blush brushed along Canada's cheeks. "Of course he does." He flips one of his gold bangs. "I am a chick magnet after all."

The albino starts snickering at his awful attempt at a joke, "Christ, Birdie, you couldn't come up with a worse pun?"

He starts giggling at his own joke and at the other's reaction, "I could always try harder." He starts taking the food out of the bags and Prussia decides to help him.

"You're just lucky I like puns."

Canada sticks his tongue out at Prussia and they then return to unpacking.

* * *

**Translation-**

faulen - lazy

arsch - ass

gott scheiß verdammt - holy fucking shit

hallo - hello

nien - no

Yeah, sorry for not giving you guys a new chapter yesterday but family came to town so this week may be slow when it comes to updates. But I do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I wanted to introduce Alfred a little better, but getting in character with him is hard for me! I also like to believe that if Prussia gets mad, he goes overboard with it. And you can never forget the one nickname mentioned in every fanfiction even though nobody knows where it's from. Remeber to review and tell me what you liked and what you think I should improve on! ( ◜◡＾)っ


	7. Invisible

"Gilbert, just… let me... make… dinner!"

Canada yells as he tries to push Prussia away from the stove top, or at least try to get the frying pan out of his hand.

After putting away all of the food the two of them (really Canada) had bought, Prussia had come up with the idea of cooking dinner for the nation instead, but he immediately denied the offer while stating that it was his responsibility as the host to make dinner but Prussia refused to take 'no' for an answer. The Northern nation was struggling and trying his best with his current strength, which was pretty strong for his build, but it's was still nothing compared to the strength Prussia had gotten in his lifetime. Although while doing so, the blond somehow managed to burn the entire palm of his right hand after trying to set it on the stovetop to gain balance.

After somewhat quietly letting out a curse in pain, Prussia paused as the other began wincing at the pain.

"Birdie, where's your first aid?" Prussia asked as he grabbed the other's hand and began to move it over to the sink to put it underneath the cold running water.

Once he realized what Prussia was doing, Canada was able to get his thoughts together. Answering, Prussia dashed off the medicine cabinet and then returned as quick as he left with some aloe vera and a bandage wrap.

"Gilbert," Prussia stopped halfway when he was rubbing some of the lotion on his hand. "You know you don't have to do this. I can take care of it myself."

Returning to the treatment, after wrapping the bandage around the rather large burn, Prussia replied. "I get it, but I might as well put these awesome skills to use, I was at least able to get something useful out of helping my soldiers out in war from time to time." Canada appears thoughtful at the consideration. "Hey, if anything, I could've also used my famous 'crotch cloth' on it instead." Prussia laughs as the other's face scrunches up at the thought, and it lets him finish.

With a smug look, the albino realizes something.

"Well, since you are currently out of commission, that means that I can cook!"

"What!? Well… I… b-but I…" He gives out a huff. "Fine." He crosses his arms. "Nothing better burst into flames though! I don't want another Arthur incident…"

Prussia starts laughing as he heads off to the fridge. "Don't worry! I'm a fucking great cook, no doubt about it!"

* * *

After getting the ingredients together, shooing off a nervous canadian, prepping, shooing him away again, waiting for the food to finish cooking, messing around with his polar bear for a few minutes, then serving the food, Prussia was able to call Matthew back and lead him to the dining table.

"Ok, so your fabulous host, me, decided to make you more than basic _wurst_ and potatoes believe or not." He moves his hands in the general direction of the food on the table.

"Gilbert, it all looks so good, but I'm curious as to what some of it actually is." Canada starts to sit down on one of the chairs and focuses on some of the more foreign food.

"Alright," Prussia sits down and starts pointing in general directions. "So this is _wurst_, then you have basic potatoes, _spätzle _which is basically like an egg noodle, and also some braised pork."

After explaining some of it in greater specifics and serving Canada, even though he argued over doing it himself but Prussia insisted on doing so because of his 'hurt' hand, both were able to start eating. After a few compliments from the Canadian, and once the dishes were clean (which Prussia also insisted on doing), the two of them had gone to the living room to watch any movie either could find.

The two of them decided to just watch some odd movies that neither even bothered to learn the name of, but it wasn't too good either so it didn't matter. Once they were around half an hour into the movie, Kumajirou wandered over to Canada's lap, only to ask the same question Prussia had heard him say the last time he had seen him.

"Who are you?"

Canada could be heard sighing before mumbling about how he was a nation.

"Mattie, how come that bear of your's never remembers who you are?" Prussia arches an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Well, Kuma-jaksu doesn't hasn't ever really remembered my name, so I mean it's pretty normal for him I guess." He saw Gilbert's expression. "He can get really close though!"

"But still, don't you think it's awful for him not to remember who you are?"

"Sure I guess, but I mean I'm used to it, everyone already does it." He returns to the movie, as if what he had spoken was the most normal thing in the world, but not to Gilbert.

"Woah. What do you mean you're used to everyone forgetting who you are? Are you telling me that they make it seem like you don't exist?" Prussia is now legitimately pissed off. "The fuck do you mean you're used to it? No one should be used to that type of bullshit!" He had gotten Canada's attention again and he seemed speechless from how passionate Prussia seemed at this. "You need to be noticed better than that! You shouldn't be treated like you're invisible! I mea-" He stop ranting the moment he noticed the smaller Canadian's eyes water.

"L-listen, Gil. I mean, I-I get that you're really mad about all of t-this, but please don't t-try anything rash." He got up from the couch, heading towards the stairs. "It's just s-something people do. I-it doesn't bother me that much a-anymore either." He lied through his teeth as he walked up the stairs. "I'll be back in a moment, o-okay?"

Once he was out of sight Prussia flopped onto the couch.

"What the fuck did I do?"

He sat and stared at the wall, wondering what he could even possibly do to help. His experience with his brother doesn't help. Sure, he cried when he was younger, but it was over him tripping and scraping his knees then forgetting about it in a minute. Hungary never cried, or at least not to his knowledge. If anything, she was the one making others cry.

Taking a risk, he figures he should at least maybe ask for some advice. Any advice, really.

Seeing the home phone nearby, he calls his brother.

"_Hallo_, who is this?"

"West! I need your help! I know that you have no idea why or where I am in Canada, but I need advice right now!"

"Calm down _bruder_, I can guess as to why you are over there, but what do you need help with, I'm with Feliciano right now."

"Perfect! What do you do to calm him down when he cries?" Prussia was getting a bit anxious now since it felt like it's been some time since Canada had gone up the stairs.

He heard his brother sigh," Listen, I don't know what you did, and I don't care. Just make sure to calm whoever it is down and just make sure they're ok by comforting them. Alright _bruder_, I need to go, _auf wiedersehen."_

Awesome, now that he knew exactly what he could do, all thats left is to take a… few… steps… upstairs. Damn, so apologizing and making others feel good isn't exactly his forte, but the guilt was eating him alive. Just imagining how sad he had made the Canadian made him feel like his heart could break. Why is this so hard? He'd never felt bad about having someone cry before, why now? Fuck, there's no time for these stupid questions. He has some apologizing to do.

* * *

Ok, so maybe it had taken a ridiculous amount of time to find the nation's bedroom, but he found it eventually. He had no idea how though, considering that his whole upper floor seemed like a labyrinth. Trying to knock on his door, he heard a faint response too quiet to pass through the doors..

"Birdie? I'm coming in now alright?" He forced the door to open, only to find a glum Canadian laying on his bed.

He glanced around the bedroom, and even though it was a bit messy with some things strewn around here and there, it was still rather plain. The layout was similar to the guest bedroom he was residing in, with the exception of a tv and a dog bed (presumably for Kumajirou). The moment Canada noticed the other's presence, he seemed to rush to wipe any tears from his face.

Standing at the foot of his bed, Prussia tried to gain his attention, "Birdie, Mattie, what's wrong? You kinda scared me running off up here like that. I actually had to ask for advice from West!" He could only hope his bad attempt at a joke would work.

Hearing a chuckle, Prussia felt a little relieved at how he seemed to be a little better than before. "You didn't have to come up here you know. I was about to go downstairs." Canada props himself up on his elbows as he speaks.

"Well, judging by how you were laying down on the bed looking like death itself, I don't think so." Prussia sat down by him and ended up laying down on his back as well. "Ok, so I'm no pro when it comes to emotions and stuff like that, but what's going on? And don't say 'nothing' because this was clearly something." He put his hands behind his head as he waited for an answer.

"W-well, I mean, I know this is really stupid, b-but I just kinda got reminded of how everyone treats me when you were talking about Kuma-jasse."

"Sorry, Birdie, but what do you mean by how everyone treats you? Don't tell me they ignore you." Prussia was just getting more and more pissed off by the second. It didn't help either that he didn't exactly go out to get the attention of the nation before. "And this isn't stupid."

"I mean, it's what they do and it can't be helped. You don't have to worry about it." He started getting off of the bed, but Prussia grabbed his arm before he could leave the conversation with such an open end.

"But what about Francis? How about America? Maybe even England. I know they notice you and talk to you."

"Sure, but if you're talking about _Papa_ when we were at the meeting, he only brought me over to where he was sitting because he worried you would… do something to me." He looked away from Prussia for a little bit. "And as for Alfred, well, he mostly… erhm... takes some… advantage… of me… but I mean, it's what he does! We shouldn't get mad at him for that…"

"Listen Mattie, I know that you're used to this and all, but you shouldn't be used to it!" Prussia stood and grabbed Canada's shoulders. "I know that it's easy to let yourself be forgotten, I'm a prime example of it, but don't let yourself do that!" The blond's eyes start widening as they grew a little more vibrant than they were before. "You're better than that and I know it! You're funny and you make great pancakes and you're so nice and polite and you're great and if they can't notice that then they can just fuck off!" The albino heard a chortle from how passionate he was getting just now, but he was glad that he was able to get the smile back on the other's face again.

"Thank you Gilbert, I feel a little better now, but I don't want you to worry about things like this, alright? Just because I got a little sad doesn't mean that if I gets too bad I wouldn't be able to handle it myself."

Prussia could feel himself smiling again as the other beamed at him.

"Alright, I'm gonna go check on Gilbird, but if you need anymore awesome support, I'll be in the guest room."

"Good night Gil." He returns to the bed and starts getting rid of some of the pillows, although Prussia could've sworn that there was some doubt still lingering in his thoughts.

"And remember, everything I said I had meant, alright? I wouldn't just say it to make you feel better you know."

The last thing Prussia could see was a light blush on Canada's face before he left the room, accompanied by a timid 'I know'.

* * *

**Translation**

hallo - hello

bruder - brother

aufwiedersehen - goodbye

by the way, Katyusham, Mogens, and Ivan are Ukraine, Netherlands, and Russia respectively

I apologize for not updating as much as promised, or at least as much as I had wanted to, but the week had been hectic and I hope you guys understand. Hopefully you guys noticed that I like to imagine Prussia being very passionate if he starts arguing about anything, or doing anything similar. While I've never been good at writing sob stories, I hope this one turned out ok. If you guys liked this chapter remember to review and tell me if you think there's anything I should improve on! ( ˘ ³˘)❤


	8. Until Later

The sunrise has shown through a small crack in the curtains that had been drawn together to block it out. It was a small fixture, but large and bright enough to wake up Prussia as it landed on his face. As Gilbird ruffled his feathers and the nation started stretching and yawning, he realized it was only around 6 o'clock and that he had plenty of time before he needed to get ready for the airport. Having been able to close his eyes to get into a comfortable enough position to feel himself dozing off, he was immediately startled by a loud crash that sounded like glass downstairs. He had rushed downstairs faster than usual, but instead of an intruder, he only found a piqued Canadian trying to get rid of some glass on his floor.

"Mattie?" He could only let out a low grumble, because, in his opinion nobody should be awake at these ungodly hours. "What are you doing awake right now? And cleaning?"

Turning around, Canada jumped a bit. "O-oh! I didn't see you there Gil, you scared me! I was just getting rid of the glass, I had bumped into it accidentally." He returned to the glass, and you worried that he would cut himself with it one way or another.

Walking over the nation, Prussia decidedly leaned back against a wall with his arms crossed. "You know, that still didn't answer my question for why you're downstairs so early. I mean, we don't have anything to do until way later so I don't see why you should be down here when you could be sleeping."

"Oh, it's just that I wasn't able to sleep, and so I stayed here for a while reading some of my books." Canada motioned towards the coffee table that had a few fantasy books on it; a few of them strewn around with some page edges folded. Surprised at the genre, Prussia could only figure England was an influence. "So when I saw the sunset, I realized it was already 'tomorrow', and that I kinda needed to get some sleep. Sorry for waking you up, I bumped into the vase trying to get to the stairs." He had finished cleaning the glass, and had gotten up from his crouched position. Looking up at Prussia for a moment, the albino was reminded of their height difference.

Prussia stood straight, walked over to Canada, and then placed one of his arms on the other's head. "Well, as much as I love staying up at night, I don't think I'd be able to read this much. I mean, if it means I don't get sleep and I can't go out or something, well, it's pretty obvious what I would choose."

Feeling the new weight on him, and realizing what Prussia had been trying to do, and with a look of irritation, he tried to gets the arm off of him. The albino simply laughed at anger the blond was trying to show.

Giving one of his laughs, he began to talk again. "C'mon, Mattie! Don't walk away! I need something for an arm rest!" He instead started to make himself heavier, while the nation still tried to get away.

"But that doesn't mean that I'm okay with you doing it!" Finally free after a few more moments, he walked towards the stairs. "I'll be downstairs in a moment for breakfast, but don't start cooking again like yesterday! Alright?"

Before Prussia could answer, he was already up the stairs and heading towards his bedroom. Deciding to get ready for the morning, the albino went up the stairs as well.

Opening up the door, he found Gilbird backed up in his cage as Kumajirou clawed at the inside.

"Gilbird!" Prussia ended up rushing towards the bear and the bird only to almost crash on the table the cage was on.

* * *

After potentially saving Gilbird's life, getting Kumajirou out of the room, and changing into jeans and a shirt, he was able to leave the room only to smell the sweet aroma of maple syrup. But before going anywhere, he made sure Gilbird was safely atop of his head. Walking downstairs to the kitchen he heard his stomach growl for food, and it made him walk just a little faster. Once arriving, he immediately slid over to Matthew by the stovetop.

"Good morning. I really am sorry that I scared you earlier." He glanced at Prussia with a sympathetic look on his face.

"You didn't scare me! There's no reason to be sorry. Nobody can scare the awesome Prussia!" He exclaimed, settling his hands on either side of his hips.

"Well, while I'll believe when I see it, you better eat fast so I can get you to your plane on time. Or, at least, faster than usual."

After scarfing down a few of his pancakes, Prussia noticed Kumajirou near Canada, who seemed to be begging for food by clawing at his legs.

"No Kuma-jikki, you know you can't eat pancakes" He tried to shoo him away, but it was to no avail.

"Y'unno," Prussia tried to swallow the remaining food in his mouth, "I don't even get how you can keep that bear around you. He almost ate Gilbird!" He pointed his fork accusingly at the small bear, only to have the animal growl back in response. "At least Gilbird won't bite you!" He lifted his right hand to show a barely noticeable bite mark in between his pointer finger and thumb. The only remnant of the small 'battle' the two had only a few minutes ago.

"Gilbert, I see nothing there." He pats the hand lightly. "I mean," He takes a bite of his own breakfast, "It could've been worse. When I introduced him to Alfred, he came back with a broken arm and ego." He covered his mouth as he snickered at the memory. "You should've seen him. His eyes were watering because he almost declared a war against Kuma-ijama."

"Okay, sure, but that's America. Not the awesome Prussia." Prussia lifted his fork and held it up as if it were proof of his worth.

Canada stood up and walked around the table, murmuring. "Alright, so maybe he's not a nice bear, maybe he is. Agree to disagree before we begin World War III, alright?" He gave Prussia a small and teasing smile as he grabbed both of their dishes and placed them in the dishwasher, only to start becoming agitated as looking at the kitchen clock above him.

"Birdie, you alright? It's only 8 right now so we've got plenty of time before the plane comes. And didn't you say your meeting was later?" Prussia grabbed the rest of the dirty dishes before Canada rushed past him him.

His shoulder brushed against Prussia's own as he darts towards the stairs in a haste. He had heard him yell, "Sorry Gil, but _Papa_ called yesterday and said the meeting was pushed ahead of schedule! I have to leave in 15 minutes! I'm sorry! I thought I had already told you!"

Prussia was simply left in silence with the Canadian's polar bear as they both heard the floor above them creak as it settled from the rushed nations sudden weight, which wasn't much.

He gave the bear clawing at his feet a final glare and started to leave the nation's kitchen to head to his own guest room.

* * *

As Prussia brought the one luggage bag he had with him downstairs, he figured he might as well get ready so that he doesn't rush like the Canadian was doing right now, and speaking of which, he was able to hear Canada hurtle behind him. With a quick turn of his body, he was successfully able to block the nation's path down the stairs.

Canada cried out in distress. "Gilbert! Get out of the way! C'mon, I need t- no, actually, we need to hurry up!" He tried to move the albino out of his way, only to groan in irritation when he could barely slip past him.

"_Gott_ Mattie, where's the fire?" Prussia snickered at the nation's face, appearing a little red as he tried to catch his breath from all of his rushing.

"There's going to be one if you don't move! Now move!"

He pauses and looks at Prussia with sincere apology, "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry Gilbert. I must've been so rude, I didn't mean it, I've just never been too good at doing anything when I rush."

"Don't worry. It's fine, nothing I can't take!" He had finished taking his bag downstairs, and decided to lean it against the couch.

"Ok, and sorry again. Oh, but you have your luggage, great! I'm sorry, but I had to move your plane time so I could take you right now and still be able to make it to the meeting, since I wouldn't be able to if we had left it at it's previous time."

"Sure, no probl-" Prussia could barely finish his sentence when Canada dragged his through the door of his house and then into his car all while tossing his luggage in the back. Prussia had to admit, if Canada was always like this, minus the constant apologizing and gentle voice, he would be a little intimidating to other people.

The pair had spent the car ride to airport talking about how much Prussia liked the country Canada and that he really enjoyed being able to stay for a few days. The face on Canada's face due to all the compliments he was receiving had so much joy, Prussia couldn't help but praise him even more for how he treated him for the past few days.

After arriving to the airport and stopping at the luggage check, Prussia tried to get out a 'goodbye'. Even a 'see you later' would've worked for him, but why it so difficult for him to do so, he wasn't exactly sure of. Prussia, for what seemed to be the first time ever, had found himself at a loss for words. As he tried to speak, he was only able hear Canada giggling at him for being so tongue-tied, which made the redness on his cheeks grow.

"Listen, Gilbert, it's been great having you visit me. If you ever want to visit again, that would be great!"

Even though the Canadian tried to clear the air, Prussia could feel the awkward atmosphere return as he was trying, as well as struggling, to reply with and 'ok' but he ended up only being able to nod his head a little over-enthusiastically.

Canada had glanced over to one of the airport clocks before letting realization hit him. "M-maple! I'm gonna be late to the meeting, I almost forgot!" He gave Prussia a quick hug before he gave a small smile and a wave goodbye. "Remember to call, okay!" He starts jogging to his car, making Prussia wonder if the meeting was important since he's that rushed, but then again he had never been one to care about timeliness.

As he went through the luggage check, Prussia couldn't help but feel the heat of his cheeks unable to go away. It was only on the plane that the cold recycled air was able to ease the vibrant color, but he couldn't help but wonder why it took such a long time for the blush to leave him in the first place.

* * *

Arriving at Germany's house after long vacations always become a huge episode with the two brothers, often involving the phrases: 'You should call more', 'Why do you only tell me about any travels you do the day you leave', and the always important 'You know the only reason I worry is because I don't want something to happen to you'. As Prussia prepared himself for the arguing to arise that would be similar to an overprotective parent and a rebellious teenager, he found himself shocked to not hear anything.

Going through the large house, Prussia was only able to see Germany and Italy themselves at the dining table, eating pasta in silence. If there was an 'argument' that had happened before he was able to arrive, this dinner seemed to be the only thing keeping peace. Usually Germany would practically force Italy to eat his regular German food even though the other would always insist on eating 'gourmet'. Although Prussia doesn't worry much, due to how any arguing done by those two would be over by the time they went to bed.

"Oi, West. Don't I get a 'welcome home'?" Ha gave off a toothy grin.

"Ah, yes, sorry _bruder_. I didn't see you there." He pulls up a chair and motions a hand so Prussia can come sit with him.

"Ciao, Gilbert! Want some of my pasta? Even Luddy likes it!." Prussia snickered as his brother turned red from the use of his nickname.

"_Danke,_ the plane ride was so long. I haven't eaten anything yet." Gilbird only chirped in agreement as he fluttered around his head.

* * *

Prussia had simply been on his bed staring at his phone like something that was similar to some type of love struck schoolgirl, and at the same time he has never been able to relate so much to how they feel. The temptation to immediately call Canada and ask if he could come over again was almost too much, but he definitely did not want to appear desperate. He can admit to himself that he is, but not by that much. He simply hadn't had such a nice time with someone since hanging out with Spain and France, which, to him, seemed like such a long time ago. He couldn't exactly figure out why though.

He heard something pounding the walls upstairs in Germany's room.

Ah, yes, now he remembers.

France would always be off chasing whoever he deemed best in a love-hazed frenzy, and while his occasional absences were of normal occurrence, after Spain was somehow able to convince Romano to be in a relationship with him, he never seemed to have time to hang out with Prussia. Spain was the one guy he could always be sure had time to hang out if he wasn't taking a siesta, as he was also the only one the could get France to stop his lust filled antics for a little while so he could hang out and drink with the two of them. Now, the more that he thinks about it, it seems like everyone was hit by cupid or something to similar to that.

He announced to no one in particular, "Fuck it, I'm calling him!"

But before he could grab his phone it, it hand ended up ringing and he was a little surprised. When he held the phone up to who was calling him, then see it was Canada calling, he answered immediately, and ended up cringing when he realized he might be a little too excited to have someone to talk to.

"Hello? I'm sorry if I'm calling a little late, I'm not too good with time differences."

"No, you're fine, don't worry! If you're calling, nothing'll bother me!" Fuck did he just say that? Maybe it's not as bad as he thinks. Before Canada has a chance to reply, Prussia had cut him off and tried to make up for what he had said, "Well, I mean, anyways, what were you calling for?"

"Oh, well, I wanted to see if you wanted to visit next week. Usually Alfred comes over and helps me with Halloween and giving out the candy," He laughs a little, "Even if he does eat all of the candy. But he just told me he can't come over this year, although I already bought everything, so I thought maybe you might want to visit again and maybe help with the decorations and stuff."

"Sure Birdie! Sounds like fun, even Gilbird agrees!" Prussia pulled the phone near Gilbird as he started to chirp in glee. "I'll come over on the 27th, that sound good?"

"It's great! I'll make the plane tickets and I'll see you then! Night, Gilbert."

"'_Natch_ Birdie."

He hangs up and tries to go to sleep. 'Try' being the key word. If only Germany and Italy learned to be more quiet.

* * *

**Translation**

_Gott -_ God

_Bruder - _brother

_Natch - _Night

Hey, sorry you guys for the incredibly late update, but I have my reasons. It's just mostly with me missing school for a few sick days and having a lot of work to make up. Although because today's the start of spring break, I should be able to update a lot more this week. As for the chapter, I hope I'm making Prussia's development well, and that you can see why he's acting the way he's acting. If you guys liked this chapter, you should tell me! Remember to review, and tell me about anything good or bad, I love to get feedback on my writing! ヽ(*・ω・)ﾉ


	9. Decorations

The week between coming home and being able to leave to visit Canada, overall, had seemed too long to Prussia.

It had consisted of mindlessly watching TV, hanging out with his brother, drinking at any bar the caught his interest, as well as being surprised that he was able to hang out with France and Spain at one point for a little bit. Even if it was only for a moment. Although, even if it was only aimless chatter and trying to catch up as fast as any of the three of them could before the trio had separated again, he had really enjoyed the time that he was able to spend with them. It had made him nostalgic of how it 'used' to be, but he would rather not get caught up on anything like that.

For the week, Prussia had been able to be something else other keep his usual stubborn appeal. Whether it was the idea of visiting Canada or just simply having something to look forward to, he wasn't able to tell. But his increasingly cheerful attitude had definitely rubbed off on Ludwig, one way or another. The German household had held a carefree mood, and for the first time ever, he was able to go the whole week without arguing with his brother. Even Italy was surprised, especially when he had let his tongue slip and he had called him 'Feliciano' when he made Prussia some coffee. Although it did get him a glare from Germany, but otherwise, the week seemed nice and mellow.

As the plane rides' time was nearing and Prussia had finished packing for the stay at Canada's, all had seemed to be well, or at least until Germany stopped him while he was already halfway out of the house, right in between the door frame.

"Oi, _bruder_, what's the stop for? Something happen?" He had felt himself worry a little, if something did, it must've been something larger than just Italy getting a cut on his finger from cooking.

"_Nien_, no need to worry. I just wanted to know one thing. You seem to be in such a good mood, it had surprised even me. Is something going on?" He raised an eyebrow at Prussia, and he was reminded of a parent and their kid in some type of cliche family movie.

"Nah," He tries to give a brother a slap on the back to make his words seem a little more reassuring, "I'm just having fun visiting Matthew." Germany's face only showed confusion as to who exactly his brother was talking about, and for the first time in the whole week, Prussia could feel his irritation making a return. "You know, Canada?" His talking became more snappy than it's previous mellowness and he realized his name dropping wasn't going to go anywhere with this. "Okay, since I'm getting nowhere and I want to leave on a good note, I'll just say _abschied bruder, ich werde dich in einer woche zu sehen._" He gives him a toothy and somewhat forced grin before turning around to get out of the house.

He hears a heavy sigh, "_Ordnung, bis später._" Then he had heard a small crash, and catching his attention, he turned around only to see an excited Italian waving at him, "Ve, _ciao_ Gilbert! I hope I'll see you soon." He could only give off a small wave and grin before actually leaving.

* * *

After checking with Canada about the trip, checking on Gilbird to make sure that he was okay in his cage, going through baggage check, getting on the plane, and finally arriving in Canada, he was completely spent. It had been awhile since he was actually able to feel jetlag, and it wasn't the best thing in the world to him.

As he waited by the baggage claim to find Gilbird, the only thing he couldn't bring with him on the plane, the bird ended up being the last thing to be brought out, and by the time he was able to get him, the claim was almost deserted. As Prussia grabbed Gilbird's cage and brought it to a nearby bench, all while he was searching his phone's contacts to call Canada, he was shocked to see that the nation had found him first before any phone calls could be made. Although it didn't surprise that him that he had found Prussia first, as he was basically dozing off and was barely paying attention to anything around him, but what did surprise him was the hug he had received.

"Gilbert! I'm so glad you could make it! I hope I didn't make any plans difficult for you!" He removed himself from Prussia as Gilbird started chirping in his cage. More than likely so that he could get attention as well. "I'm sorry Gilbird, I didn't see you there." He kneeled down to pet Gilbird as best he could through the cage while Prussia was still trying to get over the surprise hug he had received. Now he was a little glad that the airport was vacant; it meant no one would be able to see the growing blush on his face.

Canada had gotten up from his kneeling position and had grabbed Prussia's only bag as he had started leading the other to the airport exit. "Well, while you and Gilbird must love the attention, is it alright if we get going? I can imagine that the plane ride was long." As the pair got to his car and removed Prussia's yellow chick from the cage into his palm, which he then moved into the silver hair, Canada had started talking about Halloween and the decorations he had.

During the car ride, the two of them ended up talking less about Halloween and more about the costumes, while Prussia kept on teasing Canada about him wearing the provocative outfits that France had probably suggested to him. As his face grew redder with every teasing idea, he started back lashing as well, suggesting that Prussia should dress up as a giant yellow chick.

As the two of them arrived to his home, before either of the two could even get halfway through his door, Prussia's stomach had started growling.

Canada had let out a small laugh, "I don't know how I'm not surprised that you're hungry right now. Although it is still technically morning so I should have some batter left over." He lets the bag reside on the stairs as he goes into his kitchen.

After hearing Canada ponder in his own thoughts, Prussia started trailing behind him as he was nearing the kitchen, and his overall mood had improved once he had heard that he would be fed.

"You definitely know how to get to a Prussian's heart, don't you Birdie!"

* * *

After eating breakfast and being able to talk for a while, the topic of decorations came up, as well as the house's location.

"Hey, so I get that you like giving out candy and stuff, but don't you think you're a little far away for any kids to come by? Or has it worked out before?" Prussia had finished drinking some beer that Canada had from the last came to visit.

"Well, usually a lot of kids come over and visit. I know that I'm far from the city, but a lot of families have been moving closer to forests for one reason or another. So for the moment, I think I should be able to get trick-or-treaters to come over easily." He starts petting Kumajirou who had been resting on his lap throughout the entirety of the conversation, but Prussia wasn't exactly sure as to where he came from. "Not to mention ever since the kids found out I had a polar bear that looks like it's a little stuffed plush, they've been calling the attention of others too."

Once he heard that there would be plenty of trick-or-treaters on Halloween, his excitement had grown. "Alright! Then let's start decorating now!" He quickly tossed the dirty dishes in the washing machine and had then grabbed Canada's arm as he had started dragging him outside to get to his garage. No matter what, Prussia would always be a 'kid' when it came to holidays.

In the time that they were able to get the decorations out, and once Canada was able to get Prussia untangled from all the electric cords (even though the 'help' that he had gotten was the nation trying not to look like he was dying of laughter while the one actually tangled up continued pouting), the two of them were able to get the house to look somewhat festive.

As Canada started clapping the dust off of his hands, he spoke with pride on his face. "Well, I think we did a pretty good job, even if I say so myself." He began to drag any boxes that previously held decorations into the garage, so Prussia decided to try to help him, even if there wasn't much to bring back.

"Well, doesn't that mean that all that's left are the costumes?" He whistles for Gilbird, who appeared from one of the boxes, only to get comfortable atop of his head. "Don't you have a bunch? Weren't you a bellhop or something one year?"

"Hmm, well I was, but it wasn't that good of a costume. And, well, I don't have any on hand, so we can go to the store or something in the city if you want."

"Alright! We can choose the candy there too, right?" His eyes grew wider at the thought of all they halloween candy that could be available.

Canada had chuckled at his enthusiasm, but Prussia was too caught up with all the types of sweets there could be to pay attention to his surroundings. "There should be time left, so we can go right now."

"Well than lets go!" He practically dragged him to his car, and the overall effect of it made Canada just as excited as the other was.

The whole episode had only taken 1 hour; 15 minutes to get to and from the nearest costume store, 15 to find a costume for the two of them, and 15 more to grab as much candy as Prussia was able to hold.

While the two of them were going back to his house, only one question was able to get past Prussia's overwhelming enthusiasm.

"Why do you like Halloween so much?" His eyes were only off of the road for a second as he looked at him with curiosity instead of the distaste that Prussia had expected because of his childish attitude.

"Well, I remember when I was younger, and West had arrived in my life, we weren't the closest brothers in the world at the very beginning. But I remember we were introduced to the awesome idea of Halloween way before I stopped being a country, and it was the only time we really got close because we were able to act like little kids. Y'unno, not kids who had to fight wars and battles, but actual little kids who didn't have a care in the world. So, even though we both grew up, Lud grew up a little more than I did, it still makes me happy because I know that we can still bond over little stuff like this. You know?" He had realized he had set a heavy mood into the car, but he was surprised when Canada looked back at him with a warm smile.

"I know exactly what you mean. When I was little, I used to be with Alfred all the time, even if he always drew stars on my forehead, and when Christmas would come by, we always enjoyed it so much. It was the couple of times that there wasn't a war to fight, or a battle to get rid of, only simple whims that we needed to do." He looked at the other with a soft smile as he parked the car into his driveway. "I'm glad you've become my friend Gilbert."

He could feel his face heat up at the nation's gentle expression, "Me too, Mattie."

* * *

"Alright, so I get that you've had that bear forever, yadda yadda, the usual sob story, but what I want to know is why won't he remember your name."

Said bear was on Canada's lap as the two of them were watching some horror comedy show. Prussia wasn't really into comedy so he didn't pay much attention to the movie playing on the screen, and the bear really bothered him. So why not put all of his attention on it.

Canada turned his head and smirked at him, "Well, if you can tell me his name, then I'll teach him my own."

Prussia's face goes blank. Fuck, what the hell is that bears name? It's Kuma... something.

It's takes 5 minutes before Canada starts laughing, "How about you get to choose the next movie if you don't bring that name conversation up again?"

He grabbed the controller, the movie ending already, and he only murmurs 'fine'.

* * *

Ok, so maybe choosing a gore-ish horror movie wasn't the best thing he could do. Only ten minutes into the movie and somebody was already chainsawed. The lights were off, the TV being the only source of light in the room, it was 1 in the morning, and neither of them felt like leaving the couch. Especially Canada. The two of them had been using a large blanket, since the chill of the room had grown, and right now he had almost all of it.

Prussia would usually be complaining, except that the smaller nation was shaking from fear as he enveloped Prussia in what seemed almost like a hug. Only if anyone considered normal hugs to never end with occasional squeaks from surprise and fear due to what was going on in the movie. Even though he was constantly checking on him by asking if he wanted to continue watching the horror movie, he kept on insisting that he could handle it. The whole scenario had reminded Prussia of what Germany would go through whenever watching a scary movie with Italy; he would always try to cuddle with him and whisper in his ear to calm him down, it was the only time he had seen his brother so... mushy.

He could feel Canada burrow himself into the others chest, and when he lifted his head only to see someone getting beheaded, Prussia understand why. He had started feeling guilty for making him watch this movie. "Listen Birdie, we can watch something else if you want."

The blond lifts his head off of the others chest, and Prussia could feel his grip on him loosen, "N-no, I'm f-fine. Just a l-little scared is a-all."

He rested an arm on Canada's shoulder, and ended up being reminded of nervous kids trying to date yet having no idea what to do. "Well. If you become too scared, the mighty, and awesome, Prussia can make you feel better!"

He looks at him for a moment with a shy smile full of gratitude, and gets comfortable in his embrace. Prussia's face had gotten warm again, and he realized that he's been lucky that every time it's happen was only when nobody could see it.

As he felt himself relax a little more in Canada's embrace, he didn't really regret choosing the movie he did anymore.

* * *

**Translation**

abschied bruder, ich werde dich in einer woche zu sehen - goodbye brother, i'll see you in a week

ordnung, bis später - alright, see you later

bruder - brother

ciao - bye

It's time to celebrate because I was finally able to keep one the update promises I've given you guys! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I get that the whole 'this is how we bond' story is usually for Christmas and stuff, but Halloween seemed to fit Prussia's personality much better, and Canada will get his chance when we get to Christmas. For the moment, I don't think Prussia will realize why he blushes so much until later, maybe Italy will help him, but I hope you guys are patient with his feelings! If you liked this chapter remember to review, and if there's anything you think I should improve on, just tell me! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	10. Coffee

Prussia had woken up in the morning on Canada's couch with a crick in his neck and a heavy need to stretch out his back. His back was facing the TV screen and he was simply too exhausted and lethargic to even bother opening his eyes. He could sense a weight atop of him so he decided it was best to try to get the blanket off of his legs. When he feels that there's another pair tangled in his own his eyes fluttered wide open as he tried to see what exactly was on top of him.

He tried his best to control his surprise.

He had found a snoozing Canadian on top of him, who simply seemed so pleased and comfortable with the position he had put himself in, Prussia couldn't find himself able of possibly feeling angry or irritated at what the other had done. The two of them must have fallen asleep when the movie had ended, or at least, after the two other movies both of them had ended up marathoning. It made sense that he was too tired to even move him lazy ass to the guest room since he had used what little energy he had left from the plane ride to help with the decorations for the house. Prussia felt Canada move a little bit, and he could feel himself freeze up. Crap! Only the worst could immediately come to Prussia's mind. 'What if he sees you and thinks you were trying something, and then he starts believing what Francis warned him about?' 'What if he thinks something else happened?'

He could only breathe a sigh of relief when the only thing the nation did was move closer to him, or what Prussia could guess was his warmth because he could see him shiver from the frigid air. His head burrowed itself in the crook of Prussia's neck and the albino could feel his soft breath on it. He was able to feel himself relax in the changed position, and he wouldn't mind staying like that for a while. Canada looked a little cute, actually, with the lighter shade of pink on his cheeks, in Prussia's opinion. No, wait, no, he is Prussia's friend and this is not good. He shouldn't think of someone who he considers a friend like that, even if it was really adorable how he tried to get closer to him to get warm, or how his arms were wrapped around his shoulders.

Nope, Prussia doesn't think of him as adorable or cute at all.

Wait, he can't think about stuff like that right now, he just has to leave his crisis for later. He needs to face the current issue: how he can get off of the couch without waking Canada up.

In the end, it had taken around 10 minutes just to get his arms and legs off of Prussia. It would have been faster, but when he had seen him shake from the loss of heat, he had ended up feeling bad and tried to get the blanket on top of him. Although, in the process of doing so, he ended up leaning back too much and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Much to his own dismay, he had ended waking Canada up.

He leaned over the couch as he looked at Prussia with concern while he himself tried to look as if he had been on the floor the whole time. With a more forced than casual grin, he tried to talk to the blond. "H-hey Birdie, what's up?" Crud, he just stuttered. He knows better than to do something that obvious.

He couldn't help it though.

Canada had looked at him with his chin resting on one hand, with the light redness of his cheeks and his 'glimmering' eyes, it had given Prussia a shock to say the least. All he could do is pray that he didn't notice his stutter.

"I thought I heard something fall, and it woke me up." He started rubbing his eyes and covered his mouth with a hand as he yawned. "Must've been me or something."

If Canada continued to act this cute, it would actually be the end of Prussia. "Yeah, I guess, I didn't hear anything."

"Why are you on the floor, did you lose something? Are you looking for Gilbird? 'Cause I thought you put him in his cage before we started watching the movies."

This should be easy, Prussia always been good and making up lies on a whim. "Well, I just woke up, must've been what you heard."

"But didn't you just say you didn't hear anything?" He raises one of his eyebrows, which was also when Prussia had noticed the charming 'bed head' that he has, and '_god verdammt'_ he just wants to making everything harder for him, doesn't he. While Prussia may be good at making lies, he is not the best when it comes to keeping track of the ones that he'd already said. The only reason Hungary always knew if he was lying about something or not, and also why he would always come home with frying pan indentations on him.

"I did? I'm too tired to remember anything that I'm saying." Hopefully he can move the conversation to another topic, or that the nation is just too tired to actually care.

Canada got off the couch and started stretching, which made his hoodie ride up to show only a sliver of his stomach. The nation always seemed to have a deep love for oversized closing, since everything the had sleeves would always cover his hands and look a few sizes larger on him. Prussia was just surprised as to how his sleeves never seem to actually get dirty every couple of minutes.

"I'll go upstairs for the moment, but it'll just be a few seconds, and I can make us breakfast after." He gives him a soft smile before he jogged up the stairs.

Prussia might as well get ready for breakfast as well. The friendship crisis he was having earlier should be left for later, or at least in his opinion it should.

* * *

As Canada was finishing breakfast and putting two plates down on the table, Gilbird had started chirping as he laid himself on top of Prussia's hair.

"Why does he like your hair so much? Why not your shoulder or something?" Canada had taken a small bite of his pancakes, and covered his mouth as he continued, "I mean, wouldn't it be more comfortable for the two of you?"

Prussia had finished off nearly the entire plate as he started trying to explain, "It's more like, if he gets on my shoulder, I'll look like a pirate. Plus I'm awesome enough to be able to look amazing even if he's on top of my hair."

As he had gotten out of his chair to refill his mug with hot chocolate, Prussia started to space out a bit.

Canada had looked at him with a peculiar face. "Gilbert, are you alright? You seem really focused on something."

His eyes went back into focus, making Prussia realize he had been staring at nothing while not even realizing it, and he had noticed him staring at the other, "Oh, sorry Birdie. I guess I phased out." Why were this morning's events bothering him so much?

"I thought phasing out wasn't good, or awesome. It would let an enemy take the first strike." He gives Prussia a cheeky grin and finishes his breakfast along with his hot chocolate.

Although, before he could come up with anything clever to retort with, Canada had taken away his now empty plate and had continued his chat. "Well, although it seems like I've won this conversation, I would like to ask you to join me later today to go into the city. Of course, unless you want to do mind numbing paper work again, you might want to find something to do until later." He left the dishes in the sink, so Prussia had gotten up and decided to help him clean.

Before Canada left the kitchen he got Prussia's attention, "And, no, Alfred is not making me do his work this time. So there will be no need for you to call him again in pointless argument." He gives the other a grin before officially heading out his sight.

* * *

Once Canada had finished his paperwork while Prussia was messing around with Kumajirou (which was basically trying to get his hand as close to the bear's mouth as close as he could before the other had a chance to bite him, even if he had almost lost a few fingers along the way), he had taken Prussia to his car and had driven the two of them down to the city, which, in Prussia's own ideals, seemed too stuffy to him.

The moment they had arrived, he had already started feeling uncomfortable with the lack of a personal bubble. "Oi, Mattie. How do you feel comfortable with so many people around you?" In the time he was able to get the sentence out of his mouth, around 6 people had pushed against him to continue walking even though he was already at the edge of the sidewalk. 'Canadians are the nicest people in the world' is starting to sound like real bullshit to him. By the time the tenth person crashed into him, the nation had let his temper get the best of him. "Passen Sie doch auf! Sie Stück Scheiße!" Only to hear the person in turn reply. "Ne vous contentez pas de rester là!"

Only after Canada apologized in rushed french to the angry shopper, was he able to calm Prussia down by using words dripping with desperation. "Come on Gilbert, don't let this become the paperwork issue again. Just breath in and out, then walk away, alright? The post office is near by, a-and if you behave I'll take you to a cafe that sells really good sweets!" Once he had heard the word 'sweets' he immediately calmed down, only to look at Canada with large eyes as he grabbed his shoulders with excitement. "Really! You promise?" No matter what, Prussia really is kid when it comes to anything in his interests.

As the pair finished the surprisingly simple task of getting his paperwork sent out at the post office, Canada had driven the two to the cafe you were promised. Even though Prussia gave him too many questions to count about what the cafe would be like, to which he only replied with 'it's a secret', the two of them arrived to a small cafe that gave off a warm 'homey' vibe.

As Prussia entered the cafe with Canada, he was instantly hit with the strong scent of pumpkin and cinnamon, which was all in time with the autumn season.

As the two of them waited in a relatively short line, he had noticed the Canada had seemed to reminisce on something. "I've always really liked this cafe, you know? It's kinda small and a little old, but everyone here is so kind and always treat you so well, not to mention their desserts always remind me of when I used to live with Papa. It can make me nostalgic, but in a good way I guess." His face softens as he starts to remember living with Francis.

"I know exactly how you feel. Back in Germany, there's this little toy store, too small to notice even if you were looking for it, and whenever I see it I get reminded of when Ludwig was little and he always liked this little toy horse that I had made for him. It was one of the few things I actually tried making, now that I think about it." He starts smiling at the pleasant thoughts, and before he knew it, the two of them were at the beginning of the line so that they could order whatever it was that they wanted.

Prussia had ended up ordering a slice of German chocolate cake, which earned him a snicker from Canada, and a small regular coffee; while Canada had ordered a slice of pumpkin pie and a caramel coffee that was similar to a frappuccino. The two of them were able to sit down at a table outside, and with the pleasant weather, they both unanimously deemed it as the best thing to do.

As Prussia devoured the cake he had in only a few bites, he noticed Canada who was snickering at how he ate. He barely swallowed the last pieces of cake in his mouth before he had started to speak, "W'tcha look'n at M'ttie?" The other had started laughing, "At how you eat like it's either your first or last time. How about you take a breath and actually enjoy the food?" He scoops a piece of his pie with a fork and leans in to you.

Why does this seem so familiar to Prussia?

It hits him. This was what he would see in Japan's manga anytime he would hang out with him, it was in those romance ones he would always have lying around his house. At the realization, he was able to feel himself tripping over his own thoughts. "I-isn't this the part where you say 'ahh' or something?" Good, yeah, just use a joke and cover up the faint heat growing on his face. Although the answer wasn't what had had been expecting.

His tone is almost sarcastic. "Haha. Sure," Although his voice ends up sounding almost sincere near the end, "Open your mouth. Ahh." His smile as he does the small sound makes Prussia's blush grow a little more. Is he trying to make the other blush? Prussia ended up opening your mouth, and as the pie was fed to him, he repeated the point of the whole ordeal. "Try to actually taste it this time, and if you like it, I have much more than I can eat here." He motions to the rest of his slice as he drinks his coffee, where both of them barely had any dents made. Yet Prussia had already finished a slice of cake as well as his coffee.

He grins and grabs his own fork all while leaning over the table, "I might just take you up on your awesome offer."

* * *

**Translations**

Gott verdammnt - God damn it_  
_

Passen Sie doch auf! Sie Stück Scheiße! - Watch where you're going! You piece of shit!

Ne vous contentez pas de rester là! - Don't just stand there!

Okay, so I'm sorry for the not so spectacular chapter this update brought. I faced a block and couldn't get past it since I already had everything planned out beyond this chapter, but I wasn't too sure what to do with this, which is why it ended up being a filler, and so it took me a while to write it. I do promise that the next update will be better than this one, and that it can bring actual development (which is also why I stalled and said that Prussia would think about what was going on later. I also involved Japan since Himaruya said that they had an 'inseparable' relationship. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and remember to review and tell me if there's anything I should improve on! ┐('～`;)┌


	11. Candy

As Prussia hung out with Canada more and more, he'd gotten to know him a little better as time went by. He had ended up learning a lot about him (maybe more than he could realize), over these past days and the ones that had come before them. Even though he's become accustomed to it, he's learnt that the nation is a morning person even though he doesn't like the early mornings all that much, that he adores fantasy books and movies (especially if they're Canadian), can get surprisingly loud during hockey games, will protect his polar bear from any harsh words, and will also protect his small strand of curled hair as much as he can to stop Prussia from touching it whenever curiosity would hit him. Although he did discover that when Canada talks about any topic that he is interested in, he could become so infatuated about the subject that his enthusiasm can actually become contagious, and he can get rather adorable when he realizes how long he's been dragging on the topic and how he can start stuttering as his face starts flushing while he apologizes for talking for such a long time. Even though, of course, Prussia would never mind hearing him talk a little more. Even though he'll never admit to that.

By the time Halloween hit, Prussia had found himself in a pirate outfit, courtesy of Canada, with Gilbird chirping atop his shoulder as he started giving out candy like there was no tomorrow.

Although Canada would join him most of the times that the doorbell rang, if he wasn't there Prussia would try to sneak as many bags of candy as he could possibly manage, which always gave him the reward of bright eyes and excited calls that the kids would give their parents to show off their spoils. Even though he was 90% sure that Canada knew what was going on, the blond seemed to pay no heed to stopping the excessive giveaways.

As the two of them laid around the couch while Prussia tried to pay attention to any Halloween shows on the television screen, it was only a small success due to the amount of kids coming around, but it did give him the chance of messing around with Canada whenever any kids arrived at the door. As he was clad in a tuxedo costume (to which Prussia had excitedly replied 'Tuxedo Mask' when he was asked to guess who he was dressed as).

It was already nearing 11 pm, Gilbird and Kumajirou were already asleep with the bird a top of the bear's head, and there seemed to be no stop to the trick-or-treaters. As Prussia got up from the couch to answer the door he only murmured to Canada, "Mattie, this was fun at like 9 but are there usually these many kids here in Canada. Can't I just stand by the door and just eat the rest of the candy."

Only a small groan came from the other as he tried to manage out a reply, even though his lack of energy made it harder to do so, "But… that wouldn't be fair to the kids. This is for the children. You can just wait tomorrow for the leftovers, and there's gonna be a ton of discount candy." He gave a huff of breath. "And now that I think about it, the kids usually leave after 10, it's kinda weird that they're still here…" Prussia was able to reach the door while Canada was still talking, but it was slammed open before he could get his hand on the handle.

"The hero has arrived dude!"

As America strolled through the house in a Captain America costume, neither Prussia now Canada surprised at his choice of costumes, he didn't seem to notice the albino by the doorway, as he went immediately to Canada's couch and started jabbering away at something about how England wouldn't let him stay at his house because he won some scaring contest that he always wins anyways and how England should just expect it already. Once Prussia had reached the living room, he was close enough to notice Canada's desperation as he tried to think of a way to get out of his brother's never ending conversations, which of course gave Prussia the opportunity to come up with a plan.

As he snuck up behind the jabbering American, Canada had only given him a wary glance back and forth between the two in front of him as he tried to at least pay attention to the words that didn't seem to stop coming out of his brother's mouth. All Prussia could hear was a high pitched squeal as he picked America up into a bear hug, along with Canada who was practically dying of laughter.

After getting out of Prussia's hold, America turn to him.

"C'mon dude, that wasn't funny!" His face was flushed from embarrassment as he tried to straighten himself out. "What are you laughing at Mattie! I've seen you get way more scared than that!"

Canada could only retort, "Yeah, sure! But not at that! Even when he did it to me, at least I didn't sound like I was dying!"

Even Prussia start laughing and even started to get into the conversation, "Didn't you say Kuma-whatever broke his arm or something and he came back crying to you about it? How did you win some contest with England if you get scared over that?"

As the laughter died down, America's face only grew redder by the second as he tried to come up with something clever, "Well, whatever, I'm here for Mattie anyways. Why did you even invite him here?"

The two nations had noticed when Canada had tensed up at the question, as he started struggling with an answer, "W-well, I mean, he's a good friend a-and I thought i-it would be nice to h-have him over... and..."

The sentence was cut off as America scoffed at Canada's answer, "Ok, sure, whatever bro, but just because I said I couldn't come over, that doesn't mean you can just replace me." He starts to move his arm in front of Prussia, motioning as if you were something similar to America #2.

"_Nien, _I'm not a replacement, if anything I'm the most awesome thing he could have invited over!" The others face starts almost twisting in the acknowledgement of a growing 'battle' as he seems to become interested in the competition the two of them have, even when they're together or not: see who's more awesome. Or, at least, what Germany and England prefer to call 'stupid'.

Before the usual banter and bickering could start between the two, Canada had pitched his own two cents as he sensed the increasingly tense atmosphere, "W-well, why don't we just calm down and... I'll just... I'll just get Alfred's room ready for the night! I'll need you to go up stairs, and go pick your room, alright?" His tone of voice was leaning more towards condescending by the time America went up the stairs in full defeat. Before Prussia could joke about him, he had noticed the apologetic look on the Canadian's face.

"Sorry for Alfred coming over, I didn't think he would actually come, since usually when he says he won't go anywhere, he doesn't."

In Prussia's mind all he could think was, 'This kid apologizes for people way too much.' "Oh, well, don't worry, I didn't think we had much planned anyways. I just thought we were gonna watch some movies or something, but don't worry." He gave the other a small grin and rubbed the other's head affectionately before he started going up the stairs, "'_Natch_, Birdie." He heard a gentle 'good night' and the living room lights start to dim.

As Prussia got ready for bed, he couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of disappointment.

* * *

Waking up in the mornings, Prussia had always assumed that no one could sleep in as much as he could, but as it neared to 3pm, he was a little shocked. He was downstairs in Canada's living room on the couch while the two were trying to trade candy since, with his own persistence, they had gone around and trick-or-treated as well, and during the small arguments over what Snickers bar was worth how many Kit-Kats and whether or not a Tootsie-Rolls' worth depended on it's flavor, he had heard a loud yawn and then footsteps going down the stairs.

"M'rning Mattie, do you still have any panc-" America paused as he noticed that Prussia had stayed over, at least for the night, "What the hell is that guy doing here! I thought that un-cool loser left already!"

Before Prussia could spurt out a comeback, he was interrupted by an incredibly nonchalant Canada. "Don't worry, his plane's at 5 and there's plenty of pancakes in the kitchen on top of the stove." The last thing either of them heard was grumbling and then the roar of a hungry stomach going into the kitchen. "Now, Gil, if you don't mind my asking, why do you and Alfred have some type of competition going on?"

Prussia shrugs, not really being sure either, "I don't know. I just kinda happened I guess. But let's be honest, the real question is: why do you put up with him?"

Alfred intervened from the kitchen. "I can still hear, you know!"

Canada quirked an eyebrow to the taller nation and started smirking. "I put up with you, don't I?"

Before Prussia could retort, he was cut off again for what seemed to be the hundredth time to him, by America. "Are you guys dating or something?" His words were garbled by all the food in it, but the question came out clearly. Of course before either of the two could react, and as the two rushed in trying to give out an actual answer, he continued his spiel. "Oh my god! You guys are too fucking funny. I was joking! That's what happens when you make fun of the hero!" He only stopped to continue eating, and leave the two with heat growing on their cheeks.

"S-so anyways, um, how many Twix can I get for 3 Hershey's?" Canada was desperately trying to change the subject, and Prussia couldn't have been happier.

He starts passing the other some candy, "I'll give you four and a huge Pixie Stick if we never talk about how big of a dick your brother is again."

"Deal."

* * *

Prussia had finished packing and was ready to leave Canada's, although surprisingly, America was able to leave before he was even able to get upstairs and start packing. The nation had left the house exclaiming, "Dude, I have to go before Arthur beats my ass for not doing what he asked me to do! Whatever the hell that was!" His brother was more than willing to bet that it had to do with not cleaning something he broke or admitting that it was him.

After giving quick goodbyes and getting out the door, the awkward air that had been there early in the morning had come back, and it was what made Prussia quicken his haste towards getting up the stairs to pack.

Although after getting up into the guest room, he was left there wondering and speaking aloud. "Damn, I have to go downstairs eventually." And it didn't leave him much of a choice other than to do exactly that. He met Canada downstairs as the other laid on his back on his couch while seeming enthralled in one of his fantasy books. "Hey Mattie, so at what time is the plane ride again?" He spoke as he left his only bag near the door, and start striding over to the couch to sit down.

"Oh, it should be at a quarter to 5." Canada returned to his book, and Prussia was left watching the tv in an atmosphere, that to him, felt like hell.

Maybe he should bring up a conversation.

"So it's pretty funny how your brother though we were in a relationship, right?"

Maybe he shouldn't bring up a conversation.

"Well, I guess so. I mean, anytime I ever make friends or anything, it's usually the first thing he jokes about. I know he means well and I know that it's just a light joke, but sometimes they take it too seriously and they get too awkward about it to continue having a good friendship. But, I just hope you don't take it seriously." He looks away from his book and looks up at Prussia with bright eyes and gives off a shy smile. "Because, I would love to continue being your friend."

Prussia's face burnt bright at the nation's forwardness, with his thoughts going towards his shock that the nation still insisted on them being friends. "Well, I guess the feelings mutual, Birdie." Canada then gave off a more confident smile and a slight nod, seemingly pleased with how the conversation went.

The rest of the time was spent with Prussia watching tv while Canada read his book, but the overall atmosphere had improved and, in a way, lightened. It gave Prussia a comforting feeling he hasn't had in a while. Maybe even France would be proud.

* * *

Both were able to arrive to the airport on time, and it was when they were finally at the baggage check, the Prussia had gotten reminded of their previous 'goodbye'. Maybe he should work on that. Just do what Canada did last time, since friends do that. Right?

Although before he could, he was beaten to the punch, and was given a large hug by Canada. The only issue being that Prussia had completely frozen up, barely able to get even one of his arms around the nation's waist to reciprocate the hug. He should remind himself to give some type of improved act of affection, because as Canada removed himself from Prussia, he couldn't help but think that the nation was a little disappointed that he wasn't able to return the hug.

"It's been a lot of fun having you and Gilbird here, you know? I hope I can see you again soon."

"Me too. How about next time you come over to my house!" Prussia's face brightens at the idea,

he could definitely get Germany out of the house. He just needs to use Italy to his advantage.

"Oh, well, alright! Just call me okay?"

* * *

Prussia arrived to his house jet lagged and hungry, but still somehow happy. The thought of Canada visiting him instead of the other way around, did make the albino a little happy. He had gotten Gilbird out of his cage as the small bird stretched his stretches his wings, only to perch into his owner's silvery locks.

Now, where is his brother?

After walking around the large house for a while, he was able to find him and Italy in the living room watching some movie.

"Oi, West, you just love forgetting to greet your older brother don't you? That's not very nice." He gave off a fake pout and heard Italy giggle at his antics. "Did you make any of the pasta I love so much?" Maybe sweet talking will give him a better chance of getting some food than having to make it.

The Italian nodded and pointed towards the kitchen. "It's in the fridge! Go ahead and take as much as you want!" Prussia headed off to the kitchen, but not before hearing Italy murmur something to Germany. "There's something different about Gilbert, don't you think so? _Forse è innamorato_?" Only to be followed by soft giggling.

Prussia had never really bothered learning any languages other than German and English, so he wasn't exactly sure what Italy actually said. Yet, for some reason, his good mood couldn't make him care less.

* * *

**Translation**

Natch - night

Forse è innamorato? - Maybe he is in love?

There isn't much to say about this other than how you guys should keep a close eye on Italy after this. I do apologize for being late with this chapter (like always) but I do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Canada's costume was an obvious choice from me and my love for sailor moon, as for Prussia's, I did hint it earlier! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and remember to comment and tell me what you liked and what you think I should improve on! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	12. Friends

Once the near middle of November had started, Prussia had come to the realization during one phone call with Canada that he still hadn't figured out how to get his brother and Italy out of the house long enough for him to stay over for a few days. Maybe if he just asks Italy if he can let Germany stay over at his house for a change, but then again, that task might be impossible with how Romano incredulously despises him. Although, if he can talk to Antonio and ask him to invite Romano to his house for a while, maybe then this plan might actually work out. If he's lucky.

While thinking of different ways to ask Italy and Spain about his little scenario, he heard a loud bang from the front door opening and then quick chattering, mostly done by Italy himself while Germany had put in only a few words and his usual grunts in agreement. If anything, now would be an 'awesome' time to ask. All he has to do is hope that his brother is in a good mood, otherwise he more than likely won't agree to anything which means that Canada more than likely won't be able to visit.

His worrying thoughts were interrupted by the 'I'm home' hug that Italy gave him while he was on the couch, only barely paying attention to the movie that was playing on the tv. "Gilbert! I feel like I barely see you, since you always go everywhere now!" He released his grip and looked at Prussia with his usual closed eyes and goofy grin, "But as long as you're happy, I'm happy!"

Prussia stood up to wrap an arm around his shoulders, squeezing lightly. "Aw, don't worry Italy! I won't leave you permanently, I'm too awesome for that!" He gives off one of his laughs and then walked over to Germany. "Hey, West, could you leave me and Italy alone for a moment? I promise we won't talk about anything bad about you!" Even though he was behind Prussia, the albino had sensed that Italy gave his brother a promising nod, as Germany's eyes had darted behind him and then back at him.

"Ja, I understand. I'll be in my upstairs office. Feliciano, your bags will be there as well." It was only when he stated that was when Prussia noticed the many shopping bags that were at either side of him. Maybe that was why Italy was in his better than usual mood.

As Prussia sat back on the couch where Italy had decided to reside as well, and while flipping the tv channels to find anything that he would deem interesting, he gave the other a quick glance to let Prussia know that he was paying attention. "Well, I have a favor to ask Italy, and I'm hoping that you'll be able to do it." Maybe if he gives him pleading eyes, then he'll go along with it.

"Oh, Gilbert, don't worry! I already planned for me and Luddy to visit Italy next week, so you don't have to worry!" He got up off of the couch, turning off the tv in the mean while, being unsatisfied with any of the channels he had found, and then gave Prussia a small peck on his forehead. "I hope you and Canada have a nice time together." His eyes were open as he spoke while giving him a soft smile, and that would make it only the second or third time he had seen them open.

Prussia was awestruck as Italy started leaving the room to go meet his brother, "Oi, Italy! How'd you now? You got telepathy or something?" He gave Prussia one of his regular goofy smiles, "Ve, you know, Luddy's right when he says that the walls are too thin and that you're too loud on the phone." He rushes up the stairs while he calls for Ludwig, leaving Prussia in surprise and with a few phone calls that needed to be made.

Maybe this kid is smarter than he leads everyone to think.

* * *

"Mattie, quick! Tell me what're doing!"

"I... I just... I'm just watching tv! Why?"

"'Cause you should be packing your bags because you're coming over next week! You're gonna be spending 4 days with the awesome me!" It didn't even matter to Prussia that his brother would complain to him about him loud voice later. This is extremely important!

"R-really? I thought you weren't able to? Or that at least, it would take a while to actually do it."

"Don't worry, everything's solved! Just get your ass packing 'cause I already got the plane ride ready!" Even if Germany did help a little with that, with him using the excuse that it was some business about him being a country, which wasn't too much of a complete lie. "So I'll just text you the details and everything'll be good. I'll call you later."

He hung up the phone, and realized that he felt extremely giddy. Is this how Italy feels all the time? All that's going on is that Canada would be able to come over, and it seems like things are gonna go smoothly, so he wasn't worried in the slightest. Although, what are they gonna do during the visit? Maybe he should clean a little bit in his more worrisome state, use the time in between to think about what he could plan out, and everything looks so messy since Italy usually leaves so many jackets and clothes on the floors. Although, he should remind himself though to not go as overboard as Germany does all the time.

Even though it had taken around 30 minutes to clean up the barely noticeable mess that was left around the house, he still wasn't too sure about what he could even do withthe Canadian. He could ask him if he's seen any landmarks or anything like that, but it sounds kind of dull. His thoughts were interrupted when his phone started blaring the Prussian anthem.

He put the phone by his ear, and immediately regretted it as it blared out what he could only distinguish as Spain trying to yell something to him. "Amigo! You think you're willing to hang out with me and Francis? It's only the two of us, and we haven't hung out in while, don't you think so as well?" He heard a few cars in the background and then some static from movement.

"What Antonio here is trying to say, is that we would appreciate it if you could be with us again. Our lack of being with you to celebrate you becoming a new nation, " Prussia cringed a little, no one else except for Canada knows that he still isn't technically a nation, "And we would like to celebrate now. Better late than never, I suppose." There's more static as the phone starts moving.

"So, what do you think? Well, it doesn't matter if you say 'no', we're going over there anyways!" Before he could answer, they hung up.

Looks like he'll have something to do today.

* * *

Once the three of them had gotten once again acquainted, the house had gained a friendly sense to itself. The ambiance was friendly as well, and was comforting in the sense of being with people who Prussia hasn't seen in a while, and because of that, it seemed that the stories of idiotic 'adventures' never ceased.

As France sat with a glass in his hand of wine he had brought while talking about something ridiculous that England had been doing with him and America, Prussia had sat on the couch with a bottle of beer or two as Spain sat by cheerily sipping on some sangria. The storyteller himself had been sitting in a loveseat at the side of the couch, but had stopped his story only halfway, seeming to be reminded by something much more important.

"Ah, while I apologize for cutting this story so short, I did remind myself of something that I had been wondering about you, Gilbert. May I continue?" His voice seemed to hold flickering suspicion.

While Prussia could have denied for him to continue his question, he did have some curiosity as to what France had wanted to ask. He took a large swig of his beer and swallowed. "Shoot."

"Well, I had talked to Matthieu only a little while ago, near the end of October I believe, and he had mentioned that he was preparing the house for one of your visits. I remember asking, and him stating that it was not your first." His eyes had only slightly narrowed as he continued talking, "Now, I do understand that Matthieu is his own nation and is not a little colony anymore, but I would like to know one thing." Prussia nodded to show that he was paying attention. "What are, and what were, you planning to do at his masion? Matthieu is a very kind, but very naive nation. I would not want to see him get hurt, and with the history that we all know that you can not deny, I am only worrying for his sake. I understand that this may anger you, but I am still his 'father' and I want what is best for him."

Prussia could feel that his blood is starting to boil. "Now, what exactly did you think I would do to Mattie?" His hands start to clench into fists.

"Well, while I can sense your anger, you must know that I am basing these ideas off of what I know about you. I know that you can maintain friendships, an example being with me and Antonio, but that still didn't stop you from previously having slept with either of us or with anyone else. With you more than occasionally talking about having sex with someone, yet from my point of view, never having any other type of interaction with said person other than just a single night, you must know that this is only because I truly worry about Matthieu."

"Wow, you know you really are one to talk Francis! I've seen you go after so many guys and chicks, and you're saying I'm the one not doing it right? Fuck, you ever barely hang out with me or Antonio because you're too busy doing that." Prussia stands up, "And you know, I notice that every single goddamn time you've singled me out in this whole conversation, you always say it's for Mattie. But, when did you say you last talked to him? Back in October! Yet, while you're here giving me some self-righteous bullshit, you still think giving someone a phone call three weeks ago means that you care about them. Even more when you call yourself their fucking 'father'. I've actually talked to Mattie more in a single week than you probably have in a goddamn year, and don't you dare try to fucking tell me that that's a lie. Because from what Mattie's told me, and how he's way more trustworthy than you, I think between you and him, I'll go with Mattie's side of the story when it comes to how you treat him."

During Prussia yelling, and him standing up to yell even more, France's eyes shifted from surprise to understanding for a fleeting moment. "Well, I see where you stand on this subject. If you want me to leave, I am willing to do so. I apologize for infuriating you like this." He stands up, but Prussia had grabbed his wrist before he could move past him.

"Listen, you don't have to leave, alright. I don't wanna make the one time we can all hang out into some stupid war. If you don't pound me with anymore questions about Mattie today, you're more than welcome to stay." Prussia sat down by Spain, in hopes that he would want to stay.

"If Antonio is willing to stay, even after this incident, than I suppose I am willing to as well."

Both had heard Spain clear his throat, and as they turned around, they found him with his head down in what seemed to be embarrassment. "Ah, if I'm not causing too much trouble, quien es Matthew?"

* * *

"Well, it looks like we're off. I'll see you in around a week, ok?"

Prussia gave Germany a strong hug, "Ah, don't worry. Take as long as you want. If I get arrested I'll call Franny instead of you." He could hear Italy giggle at his joke as he stood behind him.

"Ciao, Gilbert! I promise I'll bring you back something!" He gave Prussia a hug but got on the tips of his feet as well to whisper something to him, "Francis left something today early in the morning before he went back home. He told me to give it to you, it's in the kitchen." And then only to return to his usual spot by Germany's arm.

Prussia waved to them as they finished packing the trunk while his brother asked Italy about what he had whispered, only to get a giggle as a reply, and then drive off the front of the house to the airport.

Now all that's left is to see what Italy was talking about.

* * *

Prussia sat on the living room couch, with a box of some maple sweets that France had made, and all he's done is reread the small note that came with it more than ten times.

_Dear Gilbert,_

_I apologize for infuriating you yesterday, and assuming what I now know is not correct. I can now see what is actually happening, and I hope you will accept my apology._

_Signed,_

_Francis_

_p.s. the sweets are for Matthieu, he absolutely loves them._

It's easy to know why he's sorry, as well as why he left his maple confections, but what does he mean by 'what's actually happening'? Prussia knew him well enough to know that he loves to make mysteries and things like that happen, since he considers those type of things 'romantic', which is also why he leaves things so open so often, but this is a little too vague for even Prussia to understand what exactly he meant.

Before going any farther into his thoughts, he heard his alarm go off and realized that it was time to go to the airport and pick up Canada.

It might be better for him to leave his questions for after when Canada leaves.

* * *

**Translation**

masion - house

quien es - who is

Matthieu is just the french spelling of his name

Hey! I'm actually really proud of this chapter, but I do apologize for it taking such a long time. And don't worry about Spain, nobody got mad at him for not knowing Canada. As for this whole friendship reunion, I can imagine that they just randomly decide to visit one another without warning, but they just go along with it to the point that it's become a habit. If you guys have any ideas at to what Canada and Prussia can do over these next couple of chapters, I'm extremely open to ideas as well as anything else. Like always, remember to comment and tell me what you like or what you think I should improve on! ( ^O^ )


	13. Impersonations

Prussia had tried to navigate through, first, the airport parking, and then could only get so far when it had come to getting into the airport and trying to find Canada himself. With everyone bumping into him, having Gilbird trying to balance atop of him head, as well as trying to keep the small metal tin of french confections from falling (and potentially breaking) out of the backpack he had brought with him, it was more difficult than what he would have preferred to bargain for. Although, it was still relatively easy to find the nation among everyone else, as he still adorned himself with his red Canada hoodie and the ever persistent curl that never seemed to droop down.

After getting up behind him and giving him one of Prussia's (now seeming to become tradition) surprise bear hugs, he had heard Canada squeal from surprise and started to laugh. "Gil! Let me go! You're just lucky you're too big for me to pick up!" He had let him down and the nation lightly punched his arm. "I don't see why you need to do that, at least when I did it, I didn't pick you up."

He pretended to sound annoyed but still kept the playful smile upon his face. Prussia grabbed his luggage as the two continued to make light conversation, while Canada also insisted that he could carry his own things, with Prussia occasionally asking questions of what he's been up to and how the plane ride was. It was when the reached his car and put his luggage in the trunk that he remembered that he still had the gift that France had left for him.

Prussia had gotten into the drivers seat, and then pulled out the tin of sweets. "Now, guess what the awesome Gilbert has brought for you?" Well, it's not too much of a lie, he may not have made them, but he did at least bring them for him. "I hope you'll like them!" Once the tin was handed over, Canada's eyes became bright as he practically ripped the cover off.

"Oh, Gil! You got me macarons!" As he took a bite out of one them, his grin had only grown wider. "And they're maple! Thank you so much! Although, how'd you know they're my favorites? I thought only _Papa_ knew that." He takes a quick pause. "Gil, do you even know what macarons are?" He raises one of his eyebrows at the other and Prussia knew that he's been caught, although before Canada could ask any other questions, the Prussian anthem started playing and Prussia has never been so happy about a phone call from France.

"Sorry Mattie, gimme a sec." The blond snickered and nodded as he took another bite from the macaron. "Hey Francis, what'cha need?"

All that could be heard was light chuckling, "Did _mon cher _Matthieu enjoy the macarons I made him? Or did you just say you made them to impress him?" Even with no possible way of seeing him, Prussia could sense the 'shit-eating' grin that he more than likely had plastered on his face.

"You know its really creepy when you know exactly when I do something, Franny. And he did, but what I said doesn't matter anyways. I'm awesome enough to be able to make them!" He could hear Canada laugh at him, seeming to be able to know what the conversation was about.

Canada joined in the conversation, deeming it as the best time to do so, "Gil, can you actually tell me and _Papa_ what macarons are, by any chance?" He rested his chin on one of his hands, giving the other an amused look.

"Well… a macaron is just… oh… Fran… getting… cut off… listen… hang… up…" He hung up the phone and then returned his look to Canada, who looked like he was having a hard time trying to hold in his laughter. "You never bring this up, and if you do, I'm revoking your stupid macarons."The Canadian sticks his tongue out at the Prussian in response to the lighthearted threat. "Now give me one of those!"

"No! You don't know what they are Mister 'I'll just pretend I'm losing connection', so I'm not giving you one!"

Prussia started up the car to drive to his house, but continued talking. "Don't be so cruel Mattie. That's un-awesome! Just give me one!" He started snickering. "Would you rather feed it to me instead?"

"Fine," He quickly shoves a macaron into Prussia's mouth, "But no more! _Papa _barely ever makes these, so I wanna keep them as long as I can."

Prussia mumbled a 'fine' before he began eating the macaron. The more he tasted, the more he realized why Canada loves them so much. They were a little crunchy but soft overall and had a sweet taste, due to the maple flavoring. "Well, if you're able to get him to make you those awesome things, tell him to make me some!"

As they neared a few of the roads, Prussia had decided to take the more 'scenic' route, even if it was a little longer, but seeing Canada's surprised expression was making it a little worthwhile. He had started talking as he tilted his head to look at Prussia. "You know, we've had meetings here in Germany and stuff, but I've never been able to actually walk around and do things like that. Just being in a new place is something else, but being able to enjoy your time there makes everything look so nice, doesn't it?" He rested his head on one of arms that had been laying on the side of the door window.

His expression reminded Prussia a lot of how he was at first when going to Canada: never moving his eyes from the scenery, as if he would never see it again.

"You know, I could say the same thing about Canada."

* * *

They were able to arrive to Germany's house, to which Canada appeared so awestruck with how large the house itself was.

He had gotten out of the car while Prussia had gone to the trunk to get his luggage. "I don't get how you said my house was big, this one's huge!" As Prussia gave him his bags, he turned to the other. "You live here by yourself?"

Whenever talking about where Prussia himself lived, he had always called it his, even though it was his brother's and the only thing that was his was the bed in the basement. He would always tell France and Spain that he would buy his own house one day, but in the end he never really did any effort to ever do so. "Ah, well, it's West's, but I'll get my own awesome house one day!"

"And you'd like it to be big like this one? More room for more parties to throw?" The blond started to joke around, walking towards the large door at the front of the house.

"No, actually, surprise surprise. If there's too much space, it feels lonely, and that's just not as fun or awesome." He opened the door and grabbed the luggage that was by his feet. "I'll show you your room."

After getting up the stairs and finding a room that Canada could sleep in, which had taken a while since any rooms that could've been guest rooms were either turned into offices or were full of books or otherwise used as storage. It was only the help of Gilbird's chirping that the two were able to find an empty one.

Prussia set the luggage down by the doorway of the one room they could find that had an actual bed. With a 'huff' he started talking. "Maybe, just maybe, I should've planned this out."

Canada started smiling at the remark as he sat on the bed that resided in the middle of the room, leaving enough space for Prussia to join him. "Hmm," He puts a finger on his chin, as if he was thinking about it in genuine concern, "Of course that's only just a suggestion, nothing too serious to think about. Should be something to look forward to next time."

Prussia started smiling back at him as he sat down by him, with Gilbird traveling over to Canada's own lap, which had made him chuckle and softly pet the chick. "Well, now I know what the first thing I should do is." There's a small, but comfortable silence before Prussia began talking again. "Now, Birdie, you think you're up to going around Germany, or did jet lag get to you?" By the end of his sentence, his voice had started pitching to a more condescending tone, which made Canada look at him with false irritation.

"Hmm," He releases a small yawn, which Prussia couldn't tell whether it was fake or not, "I'll take you up on your offer, but only if you tell me where exactly were it is that we're going."

"Well, I remember that there's this one river that's pretty popular called Rhine cause it has a ton of castles and other really cool stuff like that." The albino started moving his hands, as if he were trying to pinpoint the exact locations of the places he began listing off. "Then there's stuff like the Berlin Wall, which I hope you're ok with not going to since I'm still a little uncomfortable with that, then there's Brandenburg Gate and other 'touristy' places like that around here. Although there's stuff nearby too, like parks and bars and stuff."

"Hmm, well it's kind of late for parks and things like that, but I don't want you to drive so far for some little tourist spot." His face held genuine concern as he spoke, which then changed into something similar to admiration. "And I don't really mind where we go, as long as I get to hang out with you some more."

Prussia could feel his face grow warm from his genuine comment. "Well, I mean, since its around 10 and all the good bars are closed since it's a weekday, I hope you're willing to do all that stuff tomorrow."

Canada nodded and got up off of the bed to stretch, possibly from being tired. "Although, could you tell me where the bathroom is? I kinda don't want to get lost and have a search party come after me, you know, assuming they remember." He chuckles at his joke, but Prussia himself was caught off guard from how easy going he was while saying that. Even though he seems comfortable with it, maybe the nation shouldn't touch up the subject for a while.

"It should be on your right down the hall, and I think it should be either the second or third door." As he started explaining, Canada started grabbing some things out of his luggage: a toothbrush and a pair of pajamas.

"I'll just take a quick shower if it's alright with you, I don't exactly feel clean being on a plane for a couple of hours." He chuckles and then, after Prussia passes him a towel, goes into the bathroom while the other goes downstairs and makes himself comfortable in the living room.

* * *

He returns from his shower with his hair slightly wet, since some occasional strands still clung to his forehead, and in flannel pajama pants along with his usual hoodie. He had sat next to Prussia on the couch the nation resided on while he was channel surfing to find anything even remotely interesting. Although, it was when Canada crossed his arms together from habit and then let go, that Prussia realized his polar bear wasn't with him.

"Hey, Birdie, where's that bear of your's anyways?" He had finished surfing and stayed on a channel that was showing some action movie, even though it was nearing the middle and he couldn't tell what was the plot was about.

"Well, I was gonna bring Kuma-jasse, but he wouldn't budge no matter what I did. It's kind of odd since usually when I take him with me for any meetings over here in Europe, he complies pretty easily. And since America refuses to take care of him, since he calls him the villain ever since he bit him that one time, I had to ask one of my provinces to take care of him. I think Quebec and Ontario are still fighting it out as to who has to give him a bath." Prussia noticed he's still struggling over what position to put his arms since he no longer had something to wrap around.

He leaned a little on the armrest so that he could face him while keeping an arm over the top of the couch.

"Isn't it a little better though? Since I don't think I would want West to come back over here and start yelling at me about," He cleared his throat and did the best impersonation of him that Prussia could, which was still pretty spot on, "'terrorizing my people with a polar bear the size of a stuffed one. You should know better! I know you are older than me, but that does not mean that you should act like a five year old'" He had noticed that Canada was trying, but not easily succeeding in stifling his laughter, which made him continue his faulty impersonation. "Dirt? I have never heard of it! Everybody knows that to be with me you need to keep everything labeled and have it all laminated to make sure it stays clean! It is the only way I can keep my image as a loud and strict man who acts as if he has a stick up his ass!"

By the time he finished his impersonation, neither of the two were able to hold back their laughter. Canada already had his eyes starting to water due to how hard he had been laughing, although Prussia was in the same condition. When the laughter had started to die down and it had only been left to snickers and small giggles, both of them noticing that the movie that had been playing on the screen had been showing credits for a while. Even though it was only background noise due to their conversation, Prussia figured it would be good to choose something to keep the both of them entertained.

"Now, Birdie, this question is of the utmost importance. Which movie do you want to watch?" His face held as much seriousness as it could, while the other seemed to be holding back his laughs as much as he could.

"How about you surprise me?"

"That's a very good choice. How did you know my taste for movies was amazing?"

* * *

**Translations**

mon cher Matthieu - my dear Matthew

Hey you guys! Sorry for the extremely late update, but since school is ending, my teachers decided more homework would be a good idea. And since I have to study for the tests and stuff that we're still getting piled with, it's taken me a while to continue writing this story. As for the locations in Germany, I would like to give a very big thank you to pastaaddict who helped me with the idea of them going to Rhine! Don't worry though, they should be going there by the next chapter. Also I really like the idea that things such as provinces and states also get their own personifications, although they won't be mentioned by anything else other than by name. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and if there's anything that you think I should improve on or anything that you liked, remember to comment!


	14. Rhine

The night was spent with the two of them attempting to recreate another kind of movie marathon night, except movies with gore weren't allowed now, at least by Canada's request. Even though the only movies that were playing were action movies that were blaring with too many explosions and gun shots to count, the blond was still able to fall asleep upon Prussia's shoulder. Although he was also getting pretty tired as well, the albino could feel his eyelids drooping as they tried to coerce him to finally get some rest, especially since it was only two or three past midnight. Then the thought came to him, instead of giving himself another 'crisis' in the morning and panicking if he were to wake up in an odd position with the Canadian next to him, why not just carry him upstairs? It's better off not waking him up, especially since the jet lag from the plane probably hit him hard.

He dragged himself off of the couch, which seemed so comfortable to him at the moment that he was almost completely sure that he could hear it whispering to him that he should just sleep there instead of his bed downstairs. As he stretched a little and tried to get himself awake enough that he could get Canada upstairs, he was hit with a somewhat large issue.

How the hell is he going to get him upstairs?

Piggybacking him would be impossible since he's asleep and might fall off of Prussia's back. If he does the same thing but with him facing the other, that would just be too uncomfortable for either of the two, especially Prussia. The thought of waking him up was thrown out the window a while ago since the nation was probably exhausted from the plane ride. All that seemed left was to carry him 'bridal style', which wasn't the worst position to carry him, especially compared to Prussia's less than amazing ideas.

As he bent down and hovered above him to find a good way to get a some type of handle on his back as well as the underside of his knees, it had only taken a few moments for him to get Canada's arms to wrap around Prussia's shoulders and then to attempt to make the somewhat fluid motion of picking him up. Except Prussia hit the back of his legs on the glass coffee table that was behind him and almost fell over. He was able to save Canada as well as himself from a potentially terrible accident, but he could also feel the oncoming bruises he would see later in the morning. He then tried to get him upstairs and to his guestroom without letting his head hit anything. As both of them arrived to the temporary bedroom and when Prussia was able to get the door to open after a few minutes of struggling, he was able to get in and set him on his bed. He was about to leave when he heard a muffled snicker.

"Thanks Gil." He heard more snickers and giggles.

"You were awake! And you let me go through that struggle?" Prussia started pouting as Canada sat up and looked at him with a sleepy expression plastered on him.

"Well, I was gonna tell you that I was awake, but when you almost fell, I kinda wanted to see how far it would go." His snickers lessened but he still had an amused look in his eyes. "It was funny too, even though I kinda panicked 'cause I thought I would potentially die." His voice exaggerated the word 'die' since if Prussia did fall like he thought he was going to, he could've more than likely landed on top of the other nation. "Thank you though. I would've slept on the couch if you didn't bring me up here. I was too tired from the plane ride." He smiled at the other with gratitude upon his face, and Prussia gleamed back at him. He has always been a sucker when it comes to praise.

"Don't worry Mattie. Not that big of a deal." He started walking towards the door as the other pulls a few blankets over himself.

"'Night, Gil."

"_Gute natch_, Mattie."

* * *

Prussia had woken up somewhat early, if 10 in the morning was considered early. He went up the stairs from the basements that somewhat resembled a type of bedroom, only because of the single bed and nightstand that resided in it. Gilbird was chirping from behind him as the bird tried to catch up to rest up on his head. He was able to get to the kitchen, and as two plates had been set near the stove top, there had been creaking and then the light sound of yawning. It was the only type of announcement to let Prussia know that the tired Canadian had come downstairs, still in his pajamas (the same way he was dressed as well), to either eat or talk to him. More than likely, both.

"G'morning Gil." He gave another small yawn as he walked, practically stumbling, over to where the older nation was. "It smells so good in here."

As he spoke, Prussia could smell the mint coming off of the others mouth, and it made him a bit self conscious of his own morning breath since he had gotten into the habit of usually brushing his teeth after he eats. "Well, it's not much and I hope you're alright with a pretty basic breakfast." Canada nods and starts wandering around the kitchen, but still staying relatively near. "Although, as much as it pains me, we don't have maple syrup." That was when he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What!?"

"It's true. Ran out a while ago."

"No way! Impossible! I would've figured with how much to love pancakes, you would keep it around as much as I do."

The somewhat panicked look on his face made Prussia try to hold back a laugh as much as he could. "Birdie, I thought you would survive at least one day without syrup!"

He puffs his cheeks at him, then gives out a small 'huff'.

* * *

After the relatively simple breakfast of wurst, toast, and any jams that had been lying around (which Canada had hesitantly accepted), the two of them went to their respective bedrooms to go and change to get ready for any events that may occur.

Returning from his basement, Prussia had found Canada waiting patiently on the living room couch while fiddling with his hands.

"Hey, ready to go?"

He had gotten off of the couch, and he seemed to almost radiate a type of childlike joy in the smile that was on his face. It wasn't cynical and cruel like Russia's smiles usually appeared as, always holding childish cruelty. It appeared as such a genuine smile, Prussia could swear the only other person who ever had a smile like that would be Italy.

"Yeah, got any idea of what you wanna see?" The two of them had started walking towards the car while both had tried to get an idea of where to go.

"Well, the castles thing sounded kind of interesting. Didn't you say it was a river or something?"

Prussia started up the car and left the driveway. "Yeah! You're talking about Rhine, right? Damn, it's been a while since I've been there too."

"It sounds interesting though. The idea of castles always interested me, although the idea affected Alfred a little differently." He had started chuckling. "Whenever he felt like it, being the 'hero' that he is, he would always try to find damsels in distress and he would always be the knight or the prince. But guess who was his 'damsel in distress'."

His right eyebrow quirked, and Prussia started snickering. "Holy _scheiße_! No way! Did he make you put on some frilly dress and say that there was some dragon he needed to fight? I bet Francy-pants would've helped with the dresses."

As soon as he mentioned the idea of a dress, Canada quickly turned his head away from him and turned to the door window instead. "Maybe."

Once Prussia burst out in laughter, and then gotten a few punches in the arm from Canada, he realized that he was somewhat close to their destination.

* * *

The car ride the rest of the way was carried on with interesting conversations that had no point to them with his own occasional teasing comments which were always followed by snide remarks by Canada.

As the two of them had gotten in a somewhat heated discussion about how Prussia should be the one making dinner instead of Canada, even though he was still the guest and wanted to cook, they had arrived to Rhine.

After Prussia had parked the car and started heading towards the boating docks, as it was the best way to see all of the castles, Canada was already ahead of him while quickly talking about how excited he was about the whole place. After complaining that he was walking too slowly and that by the time the two of them would make it to the docks that it would be closed, he had grabbed Prussia's hand and hurriedly dragged him to the dock so that they could to buy the tickets.

Prussia was able to buy the tickets, while Canada kept on jabbering about how excited he was about the trip, even though it was blatantly obvious with how he couldn't stay still, as well as how he kept asking the other seemingly endless questions about the castles that could be seen. It was a little endearing to Prussia about how happy and excited he was to be there.

The two of them had gotten on the boat, when Prussia had noticed some odd looks from those near him, he figured it was because he was an albino and they simply had never seen one before, so he quickly shrugged off the somewhat rude looks.

As the 'cruise' went on, Canada's excitement seemed to only grow as he pointed out everything and anything that peaked his interest, which was mostly the castles.

He started leaning along the white fencing of the boat, while still looks towards the various castles and hills. "You know, it's been a while since I've felt like a tourist. While I know that I probably look like one anyways, even though I hope I don't, this is so much fun for me. Oh, look at the castle over there! It's right behind that hill! I mean, it's nice being able to actually travel somewhere for something other than business; no paperwork to worry about, no meetings I have to worry about, no politicians badgering me about issues they've talked to me about so many times that I can't count anymore, it's nice and a little bit relaxing. Oh, look at how big that castle is!" He had returned back to his excitement after giving that little speech, and Prussia could feel a little closer to him for some reason. Maybe because of how he could sort of understand what he meant.

Always being at war was fine with Prussia since he had somewhat enjoyed fighting, and still does, but he always loved when he was able to relax and do something as simple as listen to the sound of nothing. No fights, no screams, only the tall grass that would be around him while he leaned against a tree to simply relax.

Prussia realized that while becoming nostalgic, he had been absentmindedly staring at Canada, with what he assumed was a rather loving face. Fidgeting rather quickly, he moved his head so that he would face the mountains as well. As the trip continued, he had ended up joining the excited Canadian in his endeavors while trying to tell him as much about the castles as Prussia could manage, even if it wasn't that much. Although he did seem to appreciate the knowledge that Prussia was trying to pretend that he knew.

Before they knew it, the boat ride was over, and it was nearing sunset. As the two of them left the docks and starting searching for the car in the mass of vehicles in the parking lot, Prussia realized it is still only the afternoon and that by the time that they could get back to the house, it would only be nearing 6 o'clock back with the 12 hour clock .

As they located the car and got into it, Prussia had come up with an idea that seemed pretty good to him. "Hey Mattie, are you hungry or something?" He wasn't exactly starving, but he did know of one location that the Canadian would love as much as he does.

"I guess, but just a little. Why? I thought you wanted to cook for dinner, or something." He straps on his seatbelt as the other starts to drive out of the parking lot.

"Yeah, I still do, but I thought of a place I wanted to take you. Gotta keep you on your feet, the element of surprise and all that shit."

"Hmm, and I can't do anything to make you tell me?" He started rapidly blinking his eyes in false innocence as an attempt to get Prussia to tell him what it was that they were going to do.

"Not a chance Birdie."

Prussia snickered as he gave out a 'huff' and then slouched in his seat.

* * *

**Translation**

gute natch - good night

scheiße - shit

Hey you guys! First of all I want to give an ever lovely thank you to the amazing pastaaddict for giving me the idea of them going to Rhine, I hope it was good! I had tried to do as much research as I could, so I hope I did a good job at it. If you guys have any other ideas as to where they should go then make sure to tell me, as I'll more than likely put it in these future chapters. I am somewhat proud as to how this chapter turned out, since I've become more comfortable writing in Prussia's position (even if I still have a long way to go!) and it's turning out pretty good. While I'm still not sure how long this story will be, I do know that it will be a while before I officially end it. Remember that if you guys have any comments, critiques, or if you think there's something that I should improve on, try and tell me! For the moment, and I hope you guys are enjoying it so far! (/^▽^)/

Also, if you guys were wondering why Prussia decided to clean in the previous chapter, I had found this game Hiruyama made that is really cute and you should totally play! It's somewhere in the Hetarchives and its called 'Cleaning Prussia'.


	15. Cheesecake

"Are you sure you can't tell me?"

"Nope."

"Not even a little idea of what it is?"

"Nah."

"Gil, tell me!"

"No way."

"We've been driving for half an hour now! Give me at least a hint!"

It's true that they have been driving for a while now, but since the small location was closer to the house than the river, it made sense that this little excursion would take so long. Although he seems persistent enough that maybe Prussia should give him a some kind of clue as to where the two of them were actually going.

"Alright, how 'bout I say that it's near here."

His tone of voice goes flat. "Gilbert, we are in the middle of a field four miles away from the city."

"Hey! I'm not lying! Didn't I say lying was fucking unawesome? It's near here."

His voice starts dripping with sarcasm. "Mhmm, sure."

As the ride drags on for a little longer, the two of them were becoming a little desperate for any form of entertainment since the car radio had stopped working. Somehow the two ended up playing some type of half-assed game of 'I Spy' since neither of them were able to come up with anything else to play.

"Alright… I spy with my little eye… something that won't tell me where we're going."

"Birdie, you need to make it less obvious! Otherwise it's no fun."

"Fine. I spy with my little eye… a store? No, wait, a city! We're finally here!"

On the horizon, the image of the city of Berlin was becoming closer and closer and Prussia was able to see that, thankfully, there wasn't as much traffic as he would've expected since he was also starting to become hungry. As he neared a few of the stores and many other buildings, it had seemed that Canada's questions had lessened to the point where he had only asked how close they actually were to the place in question. It was similar to how Italy would act whenever he would be taken on a road trip, which was usually to the beach.

Soon, they found themselves in front of the location that Prussia had been searching for: a bakery. It's not too worn down, especially considering its been there for a while, ever since the 1920's, and it had grown a special place in Prussia's heart. Even to Germany. The bakery itself isn't very difficult to miss, considering everything else around had given thought to the much more modern touches, aesthetic or not. Although they can't be beat when it comes to the food that they always churn out to the neighborhood.

As Canada got out of the car, his eyes seem to have a few sparks of curiosity as to what this place is and why Prussia had brought him here. Said nation grabbed his wrist and tugged on it, pulling him out of his clouded thoughts. Canada went along with him, albeit a bit apprehensively, but once he was in the bakery his nervousness seemed to fade away and become exchanged for excitement. As the pair neared the counter, due to there not being a line (which was such a rarity, Prussia couldn't help but be thankful for it), the two had started looking for something that seemed appetizing to either of them.

"Hmm, everything seems good, I don't think I can choose. How about you pick something for me instead, I figure you would know what's good and stuff." He continues looking at the sweets in case he finds anything that catches his gaze.

Prussia simply shrugs. "Birdie, you like cheesecake?"

He looks up from the small displays and turns his head as he starts smiling while he nods for a 'yes'. "I love cheesecake! I didn't know they had any since I didn't see any, I guess a new prescription is in check." He lightly jokes while the other tries to catch one of the employees attention.

As they ordered two slices of the 'specialty' cheesecake that they usually have in the bakery and have them place them in a small take out box, Prussia nudges Canada and he follows him back to the car.

While Prussia started driving, Canada still seemed curious as to why he had chosen that specific bakery and not any of the other's that surrounded it.

"You know, sometimes I feel like the one reason we even live here in Berlin is just to go get food from that little bakery. Even Ludwig wouldn't deny it if you asked him whether he liked it or not, and the guy is super pretentious when it comes to sweets."

"Well, Gil, then what makes it so good?" He starts fidgeting and he tries to reposition the box on his lap.

"Emotional value or not, it's a damn good bakery. Ever since they started I've always loved anything that they made. It's good, but you'll know how good after you taste it once dinner is over."

Prussia heard him give off a 'tch'. "You mean I can't taste it once we get to your house? But it smells so good!"

The Prussian flicked his nose in reply, "Nope." Then looked at him to give him a toothy grin.

The Canadian stuck out his tongue in false irritation but complied.

* * *

Once Prussia was able to park the car and get into the house, he had gone off to check on Gilbird. Once he saw that his bird had seemed to have been sleeping the whole time the two were out, he returned to the main floor only to realize he had no idea where Canada had gone off to. With how big the house is, he might as well send out a search party because it might take a while to find him.

He started lightly jogging around the first floor and start calling out for him.

"Mattie! Where'd you go?" He tried to get around the hallways and rooms before he heard Canada call back for him. As he turned around to follow the voice, he saw a quick blur of red pass by the doorway. "Mattie! Wait! _Gott verdammt, _hold up!" He quickened his pace to try to catch up to him, but realized he efforts failed. As he continued to walk around the hall, he could only hear occasional calls for himself as well. While he started to near one of the rooms further from the front of the house, he had finally found Canada in one of them.

"Birdie! There you are, I thought I would have to get a search party to get to you!"

As he reached him, he had noticed that the nation was enthralled by the only thing that was in the room itself while murmuring '_il est si grand_'. A grand piano. It's Austria's, since he states that 'no house is complete without a piano in it's presence' so Germany just went with it and got him one so that he would stop complaining whenever he visited. Both Prussia and Germany were pretty sure that he treats it better than he treats the two of them.

"Gil, you know how to play?" Canada turned his head away as he appeared a little more sheepish. "_Papa_ tried to teach me once, but we kinda just gave up halfway."

Prussia might as well fib a little bit. He knows only a few parts here and there, maybe even a whole song or two if he tries hard enough to remember, but even as much as it hurts his rather large ego, he has to admit that he is no where near as good as Austria. "Yeah, I'd say I'm pretty good." He started to walk towards the piano and then sat down on the bench. "Sure, Roderich taught me stuff here and there, but I know I'm awesome at this."

Canada had moved to sit next to him. "Will you play something for me?"

"W-What?" Maybe Prussia should stop lying to him.

He looked at the other with bright eyes and Prussia felt a little more guilty at giving him a fib, since Canada seemed pretty excited to hear him play. "Would you? I would love to hear you play." A small pause happened. "I mean... if it's not too much." He added as an after thought.

"Well, s-sure I mean, don't laugh if I'm a little rusty though." Prussia gave off a more nervous than confident laugh as he tried to think of what he could play.

His fingers brushed along the ivory keys. Come on, think of something. Before he knew it, he had started playing Prussian Sonata No. 1, and Canada seemed so content and happy. It's been awhile since he's heard this song, let alone play it himself. As he looked over to Canada, he had realized that the nation had closed his eyes as the song had started playing, although while Prussia became a little more enthralled as to how he's reacting to the song, especially with the adorable small smile on his face, he must've felt the eyes paying attention to him because he ended up opening both of his eyes. The eye contact was swift, but now Prussia felt a little more self conscious, even more so with how he could feel his face growing flushed as he sensed his

presence even stronger than before.

Once the song is over, Prussia had let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding in. He looked over to Canada, who seemed extremely happy. Even he was a little happy himself, especially with how long it's been since he actually tried playing a whole song on the piano. He noticed Canada get up.

"Hey, thanks for playing that. I really liked it."

If anything, Prussia could feel his face grow even more flushed. "Ah, don't sweat it. I'm just glad you liked it."

As the two of them went into the hall and tried to find the kitchen to actually get food, Prussia couldn't help but feel a little happier that Canada had come to visit.

* * *

Dinner was generally quick, due to how it was a simple dinner and Canada had really wanted to try and taste the cheesecake from the bakery.

As the two sat in the living room, while Prussia was trying to find anything interesting on the tv screen, Canada was halfway through the sweet since he was practically scarfing it down.

Prussia placed his hand above the cake in a hovering position while he tried to stop Canada. He ended up looking up at him with a pout that almost- almost- worked to get Prussia to stop.

"Woah, Mattie, calm the fuck down. Don't want you to choke. Maybe you should take your own advice and actually taste it instead." He started snickering as the other realized the hole in his own 'philosophy', but he does end up going at a slower pace. Even if he had finished his slice before Prussia had even started his, all the while eyeing the 'leftover' own dessert.

Prussia passed his plate to him, while Canada looked at him gratefully, albeit a little surprised. Prussia gave him a little smirk and wink in reply, "You know, you aren't very good at hiding what you want."

As the two shared the dessert while making fun of a C-list movie that had been playing, the night overall had gone without a hitch. While the two of them had said 'goodnight' to return to their respective bedrooms, Prussia couldn't help but keep a relatively cheery look on his face. During him changing into his pajamas, he found the ticket from the boat ride in the pocket of his jeans. As he mindlessly tossed it onto the bedside table, his eyes widened and he stumbled over to the desk to get a better look at the ticket.

No wonder some people were giving him odd looks.

They were on the 'romantic' boat ride.

* * *

**Translations**

il est si grand - it is so big

gott verdammt - god damn it

First I would like to apologize for being out for I'd say a week or two. There was a sudden trip we had to do for a surgery, so we need to go to california for a while and the hotel I stayed at didn't have wifi so I wasn't able to update even though I had this chapter ready for a while. Although, onto other topics, it had taken me a while to actually finish this chapter since I was still unsure of what they could do. But then I had found this old, but well known bakery in Berlin: baeckerei-balzer. So I based the one they visited here with that one, although the food they make sounds so good! And I might make a little 'family reunion' in a few chapters so look out for it! Also, when ever I searched up Rhine River, the only thing I could find was 'romatic' boat trips so I just kinda went along with it. (Poor Gilbert!) I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and remember that I love it when you guys leave comments, whether it be something you liked or something you would like to help me on! Bye for now! ٩(^ᴗ^)۶


	16. Parks

Prussia had woken up in the morning and had done his regular morning routine: go to the bathroom, brush his hair (even if it was a bit half-assed), this time he remembered to brush his teeth before going upstairs, and after he had washed his face he was able to feed Gilbird. While going upstairs to go to the kitchen, he had noticed that Canada had been rapidly speaking french on the phone in the living room while the red hue on his face grew brighter by the second.

"_Oui, je comprends que je ne vous dis pas où j'allais à visiter. Je n'ai rien fait avec lui! Donc, je veux dire- Non! Il n'a rien fait! Au revoir Papa!_" Prussia walked over to him and heard some static due to whatever person that had been on the line was talking, but he wasn't able to get close enough to hear any actual words. Although, by the looks of it, he wouldn't have been able to translate whatever it was that either of them had been saying. Once Canada had sensed his presence, he had hung up his phone and then he had let out a 'huff' while turning around to look at Prussia. "Ah, well, sorry Gil. How much did you see?"

"Well, not much, since I don't understand French and all. Who was on the phone? You sounded pissed." The two of them had started walking towards the kitchen while Canada had begun explaining the situation.

"Ehrm, I'm sorry for raising my voice while I had been talking with _Papa_, but sometimes, even though he does mean a lot to me, he can be so irritating at times!" 'That solves one question as to who he was talking to' thought Prussia. "And, well, what happened was that he had found out I was visiting you, I'm not even sure how, and at first he seemed nice; simply asking whether I was having a nice time and if I was enjoying the stay. Then he got into further details…" Canada's face had started to turn red at what Prussia could only assume were France's implications. "He… you know… asked if we did anything… and then he asked if I needed his advice on anything. I had gotten a little angry and ended up ending the call on him."

"Well, don't worry about Francy-Pants, he was just being his creepy self. Who knows how he figured out you were here." As Prussia gave off a slightly guilty laugh, it had started to fade away as the two of them reached the kitchen. "Hey, and aren't you leaving tomorrow?"

"Oh! Yeah, I am! Funny that I forgot, since I'm usually good with dates and things like that." As Prussia walked towards the stove and started to make the two breakfast, he started wondering himself what the pair could do. Figuring it might be better to actually him, he starts asking questions here and there. "So what are you up to today? I mean, we could visit a building or something like that? Didn't you say you liked tourist-y things? Well, there's always just going around to a park or something. Since the bars and stuff are more for like the night, there's always that." Before he could continue, he was cut off by Canada.

"If you don't mind, I would love to go to a park. It sounds really nice." The warm smile on his face while speaking made Prussia's heart flutter a little.

Before he could ask himself why he had suddenly felt like that, he had heard Canada start speaking again.

"Hey Gil, I've been wondering… how did _Papa_ know I was staying here for a few days?" One eyebrow was quirked, even though it was meant with pure curiosity and had no anger, it still was able to leave Prussia floundering for an excuse to get out of the question.

"Well, if you must know…" 'C'mon there has to be something to get you out of this question.' "Basically what had happened was…" Before he could come up with a bullshit reason that would sound only semi-reasonably truthful, since he made a 'vow' to himself that he would quit trying to fib to the nation due to it being too hard to keep doing so, he had smelled something burning.

"Shit!"

After rescuing most of the breakfest before it had the chance to burn completely, and after Canada stopped making remarks about how Prussia was as bad of a cook as England, they had been able to eat and then get dressed. Only after meeting again in the living room, were some plans able to be made.

"Alright, so you wanna walk around that park I told you about?" They were both dressed in more casual clothing, although Prussia had dressed with a jacket and Canada has adorned himself with his 'iconic' hoodie due to the increasingly cold November air. It wasn't too far in the year for it to begin to snow, but the time was nearing.

"Yeah! It sounds really nice! I've always liked walking around parks in autumn and winter… It's kind of relaxing. You know?" He suddenly stood up from the couch and had startled Prussia. "So, let's go!"

After Prussia was dragged out of the house by the more excited than relaxed Canadian, they were able to drive to one of the more larger parks. It was generally close and it didn't take too long to drive there.

Once the two had arrived and were able to park the car, Canada was stunned mostly by how big the park itself was. If Prussia recalled correctly, the park was big enough to have a restaurant. Maybe he could surprise the other even more with it.

"You know why they made this place?" They started walking towards the entrance, while Canada shook his head for a 'no'. "Well, what happened was there was this amazing guy who helped out my nation a lot, to the point that he got the nickname Fritz, and basically back in the 1800's this guy's centennial was coming up and a designer basically said 'You know what? Let's just make a huge fucking park for this guy'" A small chuckle was heard from Canada. "And I'm not kidding when I say this is one of my favorite places to be."

A small gasp of realization was heard. "Oh! I've heard you talk about him sometimes. He really was important wasn't he?"

"Yeah, he was. I can't say that I don't miss him. He really was a good king and helped my armies out a lot. I mean, he's not talked about too much anymore, but I like coming here from time to time. It's kinda weird, but it just makes it easier for me to remember him, you know?"

It had seemed that Canada wanted to comment on something he had said but hesitated, and even though Prussia noticed it, he decided to leave it be as the two continued walking in a comfortable silence. And they had soon reached one of the larger ponds.

"You know, I don't know why, but I thought I would see ducks here. Although the squirrels are a little relentless." Canada nods to a few that were running around.

"Nobody's here and there's a playground a few feet away. And I don't know about you, but I really want to go on the swings." As he pointed to one of the near by playgrounds, he saw a flash of red pass him.

"Not unless I get there first!"

The Prussian started chasing the other, while they both had larges grins and laughter started to fill the air. They had reached one of the swing sets at a tie, although both were able to get their own due to the playground being empty.

As Prussia tried to get as high as he could, Canada was going at a much slower pace.

"I remember Alfred would always do what you're doing. Try to get as high as he could. But then he would either jump off of the swing and fall on his face or not stop until he did a full spin around the bar." He continued swinging, a little faster, but still relatively slow. "I would always laugh though. The first time I felt bad, but then it just happened so often that I couldn't help it. But even he started laughing at himself after a while." He started catching up to Prussia's speed as he finished speaking.

As Prussia then, whether to prove a point or not he didn't know, jumped off of the swings as he tried to gain his balance as he landed, where he then turned to face Canada. Who then in turn gave him a judging glance.

He gave a chuckle. "I give it… a 5."

Once the two had finished a somewhat heated discussion about how Prussia should've gotten a 11 out of 10 and how Canada was being biased, they had started walking around a bit more. Soon enough Prussia was able to see the restaurant that he wanted to surprise Canada with, but before he could mention it, his phone started ringing.

Sure enough, it was France.

Even though Prussia was a little hesitant to answer, he did it anyways.

"_Salut _Gilbert! I wanted to know how you were doing!" There was some voices in the background and Prussia assumed the nation was at some type of store.

"Hey, yeah. So I'm doing fine, but should I ask why you're calling me so much? And didn't you talk to Mattie this morning?" He nudged Canada's shoulder as he listened to France. Although the nation seemed to keep his voice and tone as smooth as ever.

"Ah, _oui_, at one point you told me Mattieu would be visiting again and I wanted to know how he was doing."

"Umm, well…" Prussia was a bit surprised, albeit a bit suspicious. " He's doing fine. Wouldn't it be better to call him though?"

"_Oui_, but I did need to talk to you about him though if you do not mind." Although France didn't wait for any answer and simply continued talking. His tone of voice turning somewhat venomous. "I do not want to start an argument like the last time I visited, but from Matthieu has told me, so far it seems he has taken a liking to you. I do not care for what he does as I do have trust in him, but I would like to say if you do by any chance harm him, please remember that I still have Ivan in my contact lists." From that, Prussia could feel himself starting to almost sweat. "Now, I would like for you not to mention this to Mattieu…" To which the nation sighed rather lovingly. "_Autant j'adore l'idée de l'amour, je m'inquiète toujours de savoir qui 'choisit' Mathieu. Qu'il le sache ou non._"

"C'mon Francis, you know I don't understand you when you speak french."

"Well, do not worry. You'll find out eventually. _Au revoir_!"

"Hey, wait!"

Before he could hear any answers to the questions that were created, the nation hung up, and Prussia simply continued walking along side Canada while he continued to have a more confused expression on his face.

"So what did _Papa_ say?"

"Not much." So much for not fibbing to him anymore. "Just wanted to talk for a little I guess." As he finished speaking, he noticed that they passed the restaurant. But instead they were in front of a different type of location.

"Hey, Birdie, do you like fairy tales?"

"My 'fathers' are obsessed with the concept of love and fairy tales. I like to think that I do."

"Hmm, then I know something you'll love!"

* * *

**Translations**

Oui, je comprends que je ne vous dis pas où j'allais à visiter. Je n'ai rien fait avec lui! Donc, je veux dire- Non! Il n'a rien fait! Au revoir Papa! - Yes, I understand that I did not tell you where I was visiting. I did not do anything with him! So I want to say- No! He did nothing! Goodbye Papa!

Salut - Hello (casual)

Oui - Yes

Autant j'adore l'idée de l'amour, je m'inquiète toujours de savoir qui 'choisit' Mathieu. Qu'il le sache ou non. - As much as I adore the idea of love, I still worry about who Mathieu 'chooses'. Whether he knows it or not.

Au revoir - good bye

Woah, okay, so I know that I haven't been able to update for around 2 weeks but while I have a ton of summer homework, it's also because (if you've noticed) was that I have changed this story from second person to third person in Prussia's view. Sorry to anyone who preferred this story in second person, but I've found that it flows better this way. As for the story, looks like Gil might find it hard to get closer to Matthew! What will happen? Even I'm not sure.

Now for anyone who wants to know: Volkspark Friedrichshain is the park that they had gone to. It's the third largest park in Berlin and was made in 1848 to celebrate the centennial for Fredrick the Great (other wise known as Old Fritz) who was a well known king due to his interaction's with the Prussian Army. The park itself is rather large, with 8 playgrounds, tennis courts, pools, and even a restaurant. (It's open 24 hours and I like the idea that Prussia likes to go there late at night just to walk around and think stuff through)

Aside from this little piece of information, I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far and I really am sorry for not updating this for a while! If you guys have any reviews or want to talk to me about something you liked or if there's something I should improve on please tell me! (๑ᴗ๑)

Also I am extremely open to anyone who would like to fix any translation issues for my french and german since most of it is done with google translate! So please if you would like to help please tell me! Thank you!


	17. Goodbyes

"Just because I said that Alfred would try to make me his 'princess' doesn't mean that I wanted to go along with it!" Canada's arms were tightly crossed in front of his chest while he turned his head to the fairy tale statue in front of him, "At least not when I got older…"

The two had walked over to a large fountain that was in the park, to which Prussia introduced Canada to it as Marchenbrunnen, and with the statues being made to tell many fairy tale stories, Prussia ended up teasing Canada about his 'damsel in distress' story. With them passing the Sleeping Beauty statue, the joking comments had slowly subsided but were still told on occasion.

With the two wandering around the fountain, and most of the park as well, time had passed quickly to them and they found themselves at the front gate again. Although, before Canada could begin to speak as they made their way to the car, Prussia's phone had rung once again.

When grabbing his phone from his back pocket, he discovered the caller was his brother.

Answering the phone, albeit a bit confused and surprised, he began to speak. "_Hallo, bruder?"_

"_Ja,_ Gilbert? Feliciano and I ended up coming back because we only found out Romano had been staying with Spain at their house when we had arrived. I'm just calling to let you know that we've already arrived home." Even with the even tone in his voice, Prussia could sense that Germany wanted to know why he was out of the house.

"Well, alright. I'm leaving one of the parks near here with Mattie, we'll be back in a while."

"Ok, but Gilbert, remember, _Sie müssen Ihre Lügen zu üben. Ich weiß dass du ihn nicht haben über für das Geschäft._"

With Prussia slightly more embarrassed, they both gave their goodbyes, and he then returned his attention to Canada who was fiddling around on his own phone. Although once the conversation ended, the phone was put away and the nation gave a strong air of him wanting to know what exactly was said between the two brothers.

Once the car was on the road, the silence was broken.

"Hey, so, turns out Luddy and Feli ended up coming back early and they're already at the house. You alright with that?"

"Yeah, don't worry, I'm leaving tomorrow anyway so it won't be an issue." He trailed off, but began to speak again. "And… thanks."

"For what?"

"For bringing me here, I guess. When I saw you talking about how you loved this place, I just felt special, I guess. I mean, I feel like you trust me a lot or something… but that's probably just me reading way too much into all of this…" He gave a sheepish smile before turning his head to face the car window again.

The rest of the ride was spent with the two having small smiles on their faces.

* * *

Once the pair had been able to arrive to the house, the moment Prussia entered he had immediately tripped a luggage bag left near the door, more likely than not left behind by Italy. After regaining his balance he walked into the kitchen, with Canada trailing closely behind.

With nobody in the kitchen, the two then went to the living room, where they had found Germany and Italy snuggled on the couch. They had fallen asleep with a movie on the television still playing and had a blanket loosely placed on them, with Italy hogging most of it. Prussia nudged Canada with his elbow and then placed his index finger over his mouth in a joking 'stay quiet' motion. Once the tv was turned off and the two had left to go back to the kitchen, they began to talk.

"I didn't know that they were together… but then again it was kind of obvious it would happen."

"Well, since my _bruder_ is both Mr. Tightass and Caption Oblivious, it did take a while." The question that came after, even Prussia wasn't sure why he asked. "You ever dated?"

While he didn't look hesitant to answer, he was surprised by the question. "Yeah… although most of any relationships were just short flings with humans. But, I mean, if you're talking about the nations… I did have something with… well… with Ivan for a while. Although it only lasted for two months or so." He seemed sheepish as he talked about his more romantic history, and for some reason that Prussia couldn't figure out, his heart hurt a little finding out that Canada had been with Russia before. It can't be helped, and he knew that, but it still made him cringe a little.

Before he could continue thinking about the other's answer, Canada broke the somewhat odd silence. "How about you? You ever dated anyone?"

"Sure, I mean, like you said, they were mostly quick little things with humans." He paused for a moment. "Believe or not, I did have, or at least try to have something with Eliza for a while… and maybe Roddy for a month." He gave a soft chuckle. "She ended up being with Roddy, but in the end I was over both of them before anything happened."

In all honesty, it had broken his heart for a while when he found out the two of them had gotten together with each other. Even though he had gotten over it in record time, it had hit him hard, so he didn't really like talking about the way he felt. Yet, for some reason, he felt like he could trust Canada with all his heart, and he didn't even know him for very long. Just a simply look into the other's eyes and he could say anything without worrying about judgement.

He gave off a soft smile. "But don't worry about it. I still love them to pieces." Which was true. He then jokingly leaned in and whispered. "Don't tell them though, they won't let me live it down." The two chuckled lightly before carrying on lighter conversations.

As the afternoon became evening and they had been able to eat some pasta that Italy had left for the two, they heard a yelp come from the living room.

"I think the lovebirds woke up." He gave one of his snickering laughs and finished putting away the dishes before bringing Canada along with him to see what had happened.

Although before they could leave said kitchen, the entryway was blocked by both Italy and Germany, one seemed as if he were still sleeping and the other had his blonde locks loose and ungelled which ended up giving him a less menacing look.

"Ah, Gilbert, I didn't know you had already come home." He seemed a little awkward about acknowledging, or at least speaking to someone, he wasn't well acquainted with. "Ehrm… _Hallo_ Canada, I didn't know you were still visiting. I apologize for my appearance right now." He was more casual than anything, but it still made him a little uncomfortable with being 'underdressed'.

Before Canada could speak, he was cut off by Italy. "Ve, _Ciao_ Matthew! Did you like the pasta I had made! It took a while and Luddy kept on distracting me, but I hope it turned out good!" At the implications of his actions, and the use of his nickname, Germany's blush became more prominent.

Canada, who had been caught off guard with the use of his human name, began to speak again. "Oh, well, yes, I really loved the pasta that you had made! Thank you."

With the two becoming friendlier with each other, even though it mostly consisted of Italy talking faster than he could think and Canada nodding and humming a 'yes' here and there, they had quickly become more than acquaintances.

As the talking continued being one-sided, the brothers had gone over to the living room to sit on the couch, but they could still hear echoes of the chatter in the kitchen.

"So West, how did you find out none of this had been for business? Was it how I actually liked traveling or how there was no nagging boss." He lightly joked around with his brother while the other gave a small smile.

"Actually, I had known from the beginning. You should know better than thinking Italy can keep information that isn't a 'secret'." He gave a chuckle. "Although, he is leaving tomorrow, right?" A nod answered his question. "Well, in the mean time I'll get Italy out of the kitchen, who knows what he has already spoken of to Canada." It was Prussia's turn to laugh at his worry.

When following his brother to the kitchen, he was surprised that Canada was still paying very close attention to what Italy was blathering on about (it was something about food that they both liked).

Once the two had said their 'good nights', Prussia walked with Canada to the guest room before separating again for the night.

* * *

After morning hit and the smell of coffee was strong in the air, it was enough to wake Prussia up, and possibly give him enough energy for a week. With the morning routine finished he walked to the kitchen to greet the other three nations that had already awoken. The room was somewhat quiet, since they were all still trying to completely wake up, except for Italy who was already perky enough to continue his chatter from the day before with Canada who didn't seem to mind the conversation.

They were able to eat their breakfast, thanks to Italy for making it for them, and soon Canada and Prussia were both dressed and leaving the house to go back to the airport. With waves and a hug goodbye, courtesy of Italy, they made their way to the airport. The only idea on Prussia's mind was to not 'fuck up' his goodbye to Canada.

Soon luggage check was cleared and they were at their farthest point to be together again.

"Well, thank you so much for the invite here, Gil! I really loved everything, especially the park!" That did make Prussia a little happier. "Hopefully you'll visit me again?" He looked at the other with a hopeful face that no one could deny, not that he was planning to do so.

"Of course Birdie! There's never too much of me around!"

He figured this was the best time to do so, so he leaned in for a hug. Truthfully, to him it felt nice to be the first one to hug instead of the one being hugged. With Canada reciprocating the hug, and both of their smiles growing larger, they both went their own separate ways with their faces getting a little bit warmer.

Even though home was quick and simple, he felt a bit odd that he didn't have company with him (preferably a specific Canadian).

He was met with the usual view of Italy snuggling with Germany on the couch while the other was a flustered mess, yet it didn't bother Prussia as much as it usually did. He returned then his room and simply stayed on his blog, continuing to return to his regular lifestyle.

It was when he heard Italy trampling down the stairs that he saw the other incredibly close to him.

"Ve… well… Gilbert, could you give me Matthew's number? I promised him I would give him one of my recipes!"

"Don't worry Feli, I've got it right here."

After giving the number and seeing the other one leave the room, Prussia couldn't help but wonder why Italy didn't just give him the recipe on the spot instead of trying to use his phone.

But the thought quickly passed as he returned to his computer.

* * *

**Tranlsations**

Sie müssen Ihre Lügen zu üben. Ich weiß dass du ihn nicht haben über für das Geschäft. - You need to practice your lies. I know you did not bring him with you for buisness.

Marchenbrunnen is a small fountain by inside of the park where it's meant to represent many old Grimm Brother stories such as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. It's somewhat large and it looks beautiful.

Alright, so, while I do give my usual apologies of me not updating this story, it's mostly because school gave me more homework than expected, but that's what happens when you choose for them to be AP and preAP. So, I will be going on a short hiatus that will last until the 1st of October. This is just so that I can get a head start on my chapters instead of finishing one, updating, then making you guys wait a whole month just for a small chapter. If I can get at least one chapter ahead my future updates should be pretty secure.

As for the chapter itself, maybe some of you can see what's going on between Italy and Canada? I hope not too much, otherwise the story will be spoiled to soon! Also sorry to anyone who prefers Matthew and Ivan together (i like that pairing too but i prefer prucan) although I like to imagine that they still stayed as rather close friends and such. If you liked this chapter or if you think theres something I should improve on review! o((*^▽^*))o


	18. Shining Stars

With November passing without any grand events, at least after Canada's visit, and December coming close to hitting it's middle ground, Prussia had spent some time contemplating one thing.

Actually...

No.

Two things.

The first was why Italy had become so 'chummy' with Canada recently. It wasn't so much that Prussia was jealous per se, but he was curious as to what the two nations talked about since they never really had too much interaction with each other before. The second was whether he should wait for Canada to invite him over or whether he should take the initiative and call the other first.

Well, he was going through the motions of it at least.

He was mostly going through the act of picking up the phone, dialing his number, and then hanging up before it could even ring once. Although, he let his thumb slip after a few tries and ended up hearing the Northern nation pick up the phone with a soft 'hello'.

"Oh, um, hey Mattie! Did I wake you?" The nation had sounded sleepy when he answered his phone.

"Well, yeah, but don't worry. Alfred's visiting for the weekend and he likes to stay up kinda late, and since this time I went along with him and stayed up really late, I kinda ended up sleeping in." At least with this information Prussia knew that he wouldn't be able to visit for the weekend.

"Now, if you need energy, remember I could always come over a give you a daily dose of 'awesome'!" He could hear a giggle on the other side, and it made him fluster at the realization of what he had actually said.

"Hmm…" A hum was heard and Prussia could tell the nation was dozing off, and also that he would have to get to his point if he wanted to actually visit for the holidays.

"Hey, so, would it be alright if I visited this month?"

Another small hum was given in thought. "Well… Alfred will be over in his own nation at the time and _Papa _never leaves his on Christmas and New Years… nobody has told me that they wanted to visit… so you should be able to come over for the week or so!"

The idea of being able to stay over for the week (and possibly the few days after the coming new year if he played his cards right) sounded so amazing to him, he couldn't hide the smile growing on his face. "Ok, Birdie! I'll make a plane trip and call you again soon!"

"Alright, Gil... I'll wait… until… the-" With some static on the line and a hard clunk, Prussia could tell that the nation had fallen asleep again. And it was a little cute to him, of course, only if he was being perfectly honest with himself.

* * *

Once the arrangements had been made, time seemed to pass a little faster to him as the few days in between the planned ride came by.

Soon, before he knew it, it was already time to say 'goodbye' for the week and head off to the airport and visit the quiet nation again.

The plane ride was calm since most people had stopped trying to travel because of the slow but sure increase of snow that had been coming to the northern nations. It hadn't been enough to stop the ride all together, but it would eventually have the capability of doing so, and he didn't really plan anything that far ahead in case something like that did happen.

Once the plane landed and he was able to wait for his luggage, which was just one bag and his cage for Gilbird, he noticed that the airport was almost vacant even though it was only the middle of the day.

While he absentmindedly kept himself occupied on his phone, he felt two slender arms wrap around his body to give him a tight squeeze and had heard a somewhat timid, but still excited, 'welcome'. Once he realized it was Canada, with his new found confidence, he turned his body a little and hugged the other tight enough to lift him off of the ground in their new 'traditional' welcome.

"It's so great to see you again, Gil!"

"Same here, Birdie! I'm so fucking glad I'm able to visit you again!"

With aimless chatter passing between the two, they were able to get the bag and cage, while also giving Gilbird a welcome back as well, and were then able to make their way to the car.

Once the car had heated up only one sentence came out of Prussia, "Shit, Mattie, you never fucking told me it was so fucking cold here!" His teeth continued to chatter even as the interior was quickly warming up.

A chuckle escaped the nation as he began to talk. "Well, I thought you had already known! I'm sorry!"

With a mumble, and the sound of his teeth still chattering, Prussia turned around to face the clouded-with-frost window as he tried to hug himself for warmth.

* * *

After they had arrived at the nation's house, Prussia rushing inside for the heater, and after carrying the bags and the cage (along with Gilbird who had fallen asleep during the car ride and still was) into the guest room, things quickly calmed down as Canada then served hot chocolate that had been prepared earlier in the day.

While looking around the living room they had moved to (both were laying on the couch while watching a holiday movie playing on the tv screen), Prussia began to speak. "There's not that many decorations around, I mean, there's less than I expected, anyways."

The house was very lightly decorated in terms of how much of a 'Christmas-y' feeling there was. It was simple decor with a medium sized tree that was only dressed with corded white lights that occasionally blinked in usion. The fireplace that was nearby had it's stockings neatly placed in front of it and along the mantle was just a few family photos and a snowglobe that he hadn't noticed in his previous visits. The outside of the home was similar in appearances as well, only a few less decorations due to the large amount of snow. While the sense of the holiday was still there, it wasn't as heavily shown as what was considered common.

Appearing a bit sheepish at the comment, Canada answered the unspoken question. "Well, since nobody usually comes to visit me for things like big holidays I usually decorate pretty lightly. Although, I still haven't been able to find the star topper for the tree," He nodded his head over to the tree, which showed that said topper was not the there, much to Prussia's surprise. "And that's probably the gaudiest thing I even use for Christmas in all honestly."

"I can help you look for it if you want. I mean, it can't be that hard right, don't you have stuff organized in an attic or something?"

"Um... well... not really? I kinda just store stuff wherever it can fit." He seemed a bit sheepish again at the confrontation of his messiness.

"Nuh-uh. I can't believe you. With a living room that would impress my _bruder_ with how clean it is? No way. Nope. You have to show me."

"Alright." His voice was waning, but he still compiled by taking him to the stairs that then lead to a ceiling door for his attic.

"_Scheiße!"_

Upon entering the attic, all that could be seen was an abundance of cardboard boxes filled to the brim with piles of clothing, trinkets, and any other objects here and there that littered the floor they laid on.

"Jesus Christ, Birdie! How can you get anything out of here?" With the two carefully picking their steps as they tried to make a path through the multitude of boxes, the Prussian continued to exclaim his contempt to the whole situation.

Once his rant had slowed, and then later ceased completely, they began to rummage through whatever boxes that they could manage to sort through. Along the way, the most that either of the two could find mostly consisted of clothing. Although, the occasional remnant of a war or battle could be found.

Believing that their efforts were to be fruitless, both stood up in a unanimous effort and then made their way towards the attic door. Yet, due to how neither were paying attention where the boxes actually were, they ended up tripping over a pile of cardboard boxes, the one by Prussia's leg toppling over and opening as a result.

"_Scheiße... _Birdie, you all rig-"

"Yeah, don't worry it's just a scra-"

Both remained in a quiet excitement with wide eyes and gaping grins as Prussia handled the golden star-shaped tree topper delicately in his hands.

"I told you I would be able to find it."

* * *

**Translations**

Scheiße - shit

Ok wow, so I don't have much to say here but I will let you guys know that I have been able to get caught up and get a few chapters ahead of all of this so there's good news. Then the really good news is that I can now update every week for you guys! It'll be on Wednesdays. I also might try to get a head start on a flower shop gerita story that I've been thinking of for a while, although I will try to get a few chapters ahead before I begin to post it on here. If you have any reviews or if there was anything you liked or disliked make sure to tell me! (´∀`)


	19. Remembering

"I wanna say that we should do rock, paper, scissors to see who puts the star at the top but I feel like that's not really awesome of me to say since it is yours and shit."

Kumajirou started to rub his face with one of his paws.

"Well, you are taller, so wouldn't it be much easier for you to just reach up and put it up there?"

The bear then sluggishly make his way to the fireplace near the tree.

"Sure, but... I mean where's the fun? I still say that you should do it."

Gilbird soon joined the snoozing polar bear, and promptly fell asleep as well.

The pair had remained disputing over who should be the one to place the golden trinket atop the pine tree. Neither wanted to deny the other of placing the star themselves since they both felt that it was one of the more 'important' decorations during this type of holiday season.

A nervous chuckle was the reply. "But I'm sort of afraid that I'll accidentally trip or lose my balance or something."

"Well, then get a stool and I'll hold you up!"

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me! Go! Hurry!"

* * *

In retrospect, if giving his friend a hug was too much for him, maybe Prussia suggesting to hold said friend up by his waist wasn't the best idea he'd come up with so far.

With a somewhat flustered expression on his face, he held the wobbling Canadian, who had accidentally chosen one of his more unbalanced stools to step on, so that he could reach the very top of the Christmas tree. Thankfully for Prussia, he was only facing the other's back so that the nation wouldn't be able to see his reddened face.

After finding a good place to position the star, all that was left was for Canada to lean up and place the decoration. Except the wobbling chair began to cause issues for both of them each time any movement was made, no matter how small. With his hands accidentally sliding underneath the layers of clothing that were worn, the blush on Prussia's face only deepened as he then needed to tighten his hold as the nation leaned up again and was finally able to place the star on the tree. Once Canada had lowered himself from the stool, with help from Prussia so that he wouldn't trip or tumble, the northern nation retreated a bit from the tree and then admired the two's effort. While one was appearing pleased with the overall outcome, even if the detail was just a single difference, the other was trying to calm himself and lessen the bright flush on his face.

He's been in more intimate situations with many others too many times to count. The idea of 'one night stands' were usual things to him. But why did simple action of briefly touching the skin over the others hips make him so embarrassed? Sure, his skin felt a little… soft… and his body a little plush… but only if he was being honest, and maybe it felt nice how he basically radiated a lovely warmth that was amazing in comparison to the cold country that he represented, but he was only telling the truth… and that's not odd. Everyone comments on stuff like that to their friends all the time. Right?

With a few words, Prussia was then pulled out of his thoughts to what was actually going on, and to what Canada had been trying to say to him.

"What? Sorry, Mattie, I was just thinking of something."

"Don't worry. I just wanted to know if you were hungry or not."

* * *

"I haven't had s'mores in a while, yunno?" Prussia then sucked the melted chocolate and marshmallow off of his thumbs.

While neither was hungry enough to have a meal, when Prussia pointed at a small built-in stone campfire on the backyard deck the idea of s'mores as a small snack ended up sounding perfect to the two of them. With the snow seeming to come to a stop for the day, and them still having some light out before it would become pitch dark again, they had no issue sitting outside in a sweater and jacket or two and warming up the deck they were on for a while.

"Really? I usually make these whenever Alfred stays over for the weekends, he would always ask me for them on Saturdays so that we could just look at the stars at night. If you ever want to make some again just tell me!"

When he heard about the stars at night, his interest immediately peaked. "You can see the stars here?" Since both him and his brother lived in one of the nation's larger cities, the chances of seeing stars was usually zero to none. But they never stopped interesting him to no extent.

A quick darting tongue to get rid of leftover chocolate near his mouth made his reply lag a little. "Mhmm! And sometimes we would go hiking or just drive to a reserve a little farther out and go look at the northern lights. I've seen them an infinite amount of times and they never stop being the most beautiful view in the world." His voice grew softer as he remembered his previous visits, and his eyes gained a new spark of interest along with his memories.

Seeing the northern lights was definitely something that Prussia always wanted to do, but seeing the way Canada reacted to only reminiscing at the thought of it made him even more excited to do so. "Where do you usually go?"

"Well, I think by the beginning of the new year you can go see them by Yellowknife. Although the travel takes a while, it's always worth it in the end."

Before Prussia could reply, the noise of paws gently padding along the wooden deck with the occasional click of a few nails could be heard.

"It's cold."

Clearly the bear had come outside of the house to potentially get some food, but the regret was easily shown. Prussia looked at the animal condescendingly, "Aren't you a polar bear?"

"Yeah." And with the simple, one worded answer, he trotted back inside of the house to warm up as the two nations only looked at the bear return to the living room with it's heater.

"Isn't he a polar bear? Isn't he supposed to be in cold weather all the time? Like Antarctica or some shit like that?"

"Sometimes I realize that I may spoil him a little too much." With a short giggle, the two finished up their leftover s'mores.

* * *

With Prussia's plane having come a little late, and with the changing times the came with winter, it was already night before they knew it. And it had begun to snow again. Except they were close to being snowed in, and Prussia has never experienced that before.

He had spent most of his time with Canada wrapped in a blanket and trying to keep as warm as he possibly could, but the other's body heat did help a little. They spent most of the time watching any holiday specials that they could find on any channel, or at least, they were able to for only two hours or so since the snowstorm had reached it's peak and ruined their only source of power to the house. Which left them in a cold and dark room.

"Ah! Don't worry Gil, sorry for this! It doesn't usually happen until around January!" With Prussia hearing some fumbling and quiet curses here and there anytime he hit something, it was pretty easy to tell that Canada was trying to either go up the stairs to find something, or he was going to the kitchen instead.

The noise of quickened steps let him know that he had gone upstairs and was coming back in a hastened pace.

"You know I could've given you my phone as a light, right?"

"Well, it's too late for that now. And plus I've found my candles that I use for blackouts and stuff like this! A couple of them are electric but they should still work. I also brought a couple of other blankets since the heater usually breaks when the power goes out. Sorry about that."

"Nah, don't worry. Although I will take one of those blankets you got."

After the two lit enough candles in the living room and were able to place them so that they wouldn't trip over anything, they began to simply talk about anything that had come to their minds. Although, when they were nearing the end of any conversations they could come up with, Prussia has noticed a few books lying on the coffee table.

"You told me you like reading, right? You got any other books around here?"

"Oh yeah! If you don't mind I could show you my little library that I have here."

With an excited nod, the two then trekked towards a room (with Prussia letting a blanket he still had wrapped around him drag on the floor as he walked) next to the nation's home office. The room was of a regular size, enough to fit a large bed or so, and on one side there was a simple couch while it faced the opposite wall that was covered in books.

With a subtle remark in exclamation, Prussia used his phone as a source of light and began to take a few glances here and there at all of the books that were nearly overflowing on the bookshelves they resided in. Some even finding homes in neat piles on the ground instead.

His fingers lightly grazed the bindings (and with Canada being too occupied in searching for his own book there had been no need to rush) and he soon found himself stopping near a few familiar books.

"'The History of the Nation of Prussia'?" He spoke aloud, enough to get the attention of the other nation who was enthralled in one book he had picked up.

"Hmm?" A quick glance and he immediately recognized the book. "Oh! Well, I, um... when I had heard about New Prussia, and that you would eventually discover about it yourself, I felt like I should catch up with the history of your country." He paused as a glow grew on his cheeks. "There should be a few more over there next to that one." His comment was quiet and sheepish from his embarrassment, but to Prussia it was loud enough to hear.

Quickly scanning the shelves with a growing excitement he found nearly a dozen more books all about the history of his wars and just the nation itself. Reading title by title, he couldn't stop the smile that grew on his face as every second passed.

As he cracked open one of the thicker books on his wars, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

A comforting whisper was heard. "You know... I just want you to know that I did this because I wanted to, not because I had to. Your history really is amazing, Gil."

It was that phrase the really made it the cherry on top.

After the dissolution of his own nation, after losing his own recognition, even after constantly questioning why he exists when his nation doesn't, and especially after losing motivation every time someone asked what Prussia even was, it was this small gesture of genuine interest that honestly made all of awful feelings and thoughts disappear for a few moments. He knew that these ideas and emotions filled with sorrow will never leave him, but right now it felt as if they had never been with him in the first place.

Before he even thought about what he was doing, he turned around and gave Canada the biggest and tightest hug he could possibly manage.

Even his eyes begun to water as his grip tightened. "_D-anke._" His voice was hoarse and the only word he could say had cracked halfway through, but all of the feelings that were overwhelming him could be both felt and heard.

With a gentle rub on his back and a warm and loving smile, Canada reciprocated the hug, all the while whispering gentle and caring comments as Prussia's breathing slowly begun to calm down while his sniffling came to a near halt.

* * *

**Translations**

Danke - thank you

Alright! So, I am super proud of this chapter! It had taken me a while to figure out where to go with it but then I just kinda went along with a few things here and there that I would remember about the two. There's still many things to take place, but I hope I'm going at a good pace! (Originally I had meant for this to only be a one shot and not a full fledged story!) Also, I had gotten the idea of Gilbert liking astronomy because of Friedrich Wilhelm August Argelander who was a Prussian astronomer who was able to establish the study of stars into an actual science, and even discovering over 300 thousand stars in his lifespan. If you like any thing or want to tell me something you would want to see improved make sure to review! (ˆ⌣ˆc)


	20. Visiting

Once the two had been able to return to the living room (with Prussia's smile refusing to fade) they found themselves once again enthralled in anything that caught their attention. Although at some points, they ended up in a comfortable silence.

Only for it to be broken by Canada.

"Tomorrow's Christmas." His sentence had sounded more like a statement of awe than one of surprise.

"Does this mean you got me something?"

"We'll see tomorrow in the morning." His smile was sly as they finished their short conversation, while Prussia could only wonder what was actually his gift.

* * *

Waking up in the morning, and rushing his regular morning routine, he had run downstairs when he could smell breakfast being made.

Before he could dash to the tree in the living room, he was halted by the Canadian's lingering voice. "Don't bother going to the tree! I hid the present near it so that you wouldn't see anything!"

Begrudgingly, he had set the gift that he had brought with him near the tree and then quickly retreated to the kitchen before he could be accused of looking for his present.

They said their good mornings, and once breakfast was over (since Prussia had rushed scarfing down everything) they had then traveled over to the Christmas tree as they both sat on the ground with their legs crossed.

Hurriedly grabbing the small box that Prussia had placed underneath the tree, he shoved it onto the Canadian's lap.

"C'mon! Open it!"

Once he had gotten passed the surprisingly well done gift wrapping, all that was left was to remove the top off of a simple prussian blue box. Opening it rather slowly, the curiosity on Canada's face quickly changed to joy as he picked the object out of the box.

In his hands, he held a little wooden birdcage, around the size of his palm, that contained a small bird that rocked slowly on it's own in the cage.

Before Canada could give any thanks, he was interrupted. "When you told me I could visit for this week, I went to that awesome old toy store I told you about and they had this on their little windowsill, and it reminded me of you I guess..." His words were ambivalent but his admiration was heard in his tone. While rubbing the back of his neck, his smile of pride shifted towards shyness. "On the bottom theres a little knob that you're supposed to twist."

After checking, and being true to his words, a small wooden knob was in the center at the bottom of the base of the cage. He turned it as much as he could manage before realizing that this little toy was actually a music box. The tune that came out was slow and similar to what would be heard in a lullaby, but then he recognized it the further it went along.

"The Canadian Anthem?"

"Well, yeah. When they told me it was a music box they said that I could change to music to anything I wanted, so I did."

With the music box still playing, it was placed on the floor so that Canada could give his thanks with a gentle hug.

"I love it so much! Thank you, Gil."

"No problem. So... anyways..." He cleared his throat and smiled. "What did you get me?"

Snickering, Canada had gotten up off of the floor and walked towards the snowglobe that rested on the fireplace mantel. He then pulled out a, what appeared to be, hastily wrapped box from behind it. Sitting back down, he placed it in the others palm.

With an odd face, as he opened it, Prussia constantly looked back at the nation every few moments, only to be reassured by a nodding face and bright smile.

Opening the box, all that was inside of it were a set of keys. One that was blank, and one that was red and white.

"What're these for?"

"That will be explained once you get in the car."

* * *

After being told the drive could take a while, and that they were lucky that it both had stopped raining and that the snow plows had already come by, Prussia could only be left wondering what the hell was going on.

And with Canada answering his questions in what seemed like cryptic phrases, he was not much help either.

After what seemed like forever, they had begun to near as small town that was built similarly to how old germanic towns were built.

Before asking any questions, as he was still trying to come up with one, Canada had answered what was unasked.

With a gentle expression his face, he turned his head to face the other, and spoke. "Welcome to the town of New Prussia."

* * *

With his face full of awe, he was taken around the small town while being explained everything. Or, really, why they had even gone there in the first place.

"After I realized that through every single time you came to visit, I never once took you here, even though I meant to do so the first time, I figured this would be the best thing to do." He smiled at the other who could only manage to dumbly nod along at his words.

"Once I was able to find the exact location and plan everything out," They had begun to drive near more houses than stores. "It was near the time I visited you, and you had told me that you had been looking for a house for a while, so I figured," Once he knew what the nation was implying, Prussia's shock could only grow. "'Why not just find a house for you in your own town?' So I did, and that's also why I had been talking to Italy, since I figured that he could help me since he's known you for longer than I have."

They stopped driving and had then parked in front of a simple house. It was two floors but was still rather small, as it was somewhat narrow. The color was a simple white with brown detailing, and a flower box decorating one of the windows on the bottom floor. With so much snow everywhere, while nearly anything and everything had been powdered with white, it still all looked so amazing to Prussia. The house was even close to the town square, and all that could be heard was German and French (of course being in Canada would leave some time of influence on those there) being used casually by the few here and there that lived in the small town. With Prussia being pulled by the arm by an excitable Canada, the nation could still not be pushed out of his disbelief.

Although, when Canada noticed this, his smile had faltered a bit.

"W-was this a little too much? I'm sorry, I just figured that you would enjoyed being here and stuff..." His grip on the others wrist lessened.

Prussia was quickly pulled out of his dumbstruck thoughts when he heard the nervousness in the nation's voice. "No, wait." He paused and released his breath that he hadn't realized he was holding, "I... I love it. I love all of this. Down to every fucking pebble, it's all so awesome and amazing and I can't believe this is happening and that I'm standing in a place named after my existence when this hasn't happen in so many _verdammt _years. Thank you so much Mattie." He glanced at Canada, and then with a chuckle he spoke. "You're really setting the expectations high for next year."

A playful punch was given to his shoulder before they went inside.

* * *

The house still had no furniture and for a while Prussia could still barely get any words out of his mouth, but his smile never threatened to lessen. With a small tour of the house done, they went walking to the nearby town square. Prussia had been unusually quiet in comparison to how he would usually act, but with the experience being completely new to him, he could only keep quite as explanations were given to him. With Canada having only visited once or twice, he knew nearly as much as Prussia did: nothing. Although, with both of their languages to their advantage, it was only able to give them a more positive experience as they both conversed with some traveling around the square to know what was what and which was where. Many of whom Prussia was able to speak to in gleeful german.

Through their small conversations they were even led to a small bakery when Prussia had mentioned the one that him and Canada had visited a month back. It was styled similarly to a cafe, but still kept a rustic charm. Along the way Prussia had grown much more vocal than he had been at the beginning as the shock was lessening and he grew comfortable in his new 'land'.

It didn't stop at the bakery though.

With passing time, his conversations with the citizens lengthened as he became more and more determined to get to know them better in his time of absence, all the while speaking in German and the occasional translated sentence with the help of Canada.

Much to both of their dismay, they had to leave somewhat early if they would be able to get home since the weather had shown signs that it would begin to snow soon.

* * *

The ride was quick in return, mainly when in comparison to how slow it felt when Prussia was only in anticipation for his 'present'.

Once they had arrived home and were welcomed by their owns pets, both of whom refused to leave because of the cold, they both laid on the living room couch lightly conversing while refusing to let their smiles lessen.

Before returning to bed and going into a slumber, Prussia contemplated the thought of calling his brother and telling (bragging to) him the incredible news. Being reminded of time differences and also the not so tiny fact that no one knew yet about his less than 'country-like' presence onto the world. Shrugging to himself, but still knowing he would eventually have to face this issue later on in this new year or at any time in the future, he promptly fell asleep but couldn't let the small voice telling him about what would eventually happen quite down.

* * *

**Translation**

verdammt - god damn

This chapter in comparison to my others feels a bit slow to me, but this is a necessary step in this story if we want to see their relationship grow and change much more easily. In all honesty this was probably the hardest chapter for me to write, but so far it turned out better than what I had expected! For Prussia near the end, I've imagined him to be the kind a person that I am a.k.a 'haha wow I'm gonna have to deal with that eventually' but we'll get to that part of the story in a while. If you guys liked this chapter or have anything you wanna comment on or think I should improve on, remember to review! ( ^O^ )


	21. New Year Realizations

Before either of them could realize it, Christmas day was over and New Years was already here.

Both had celebrated with champagne, various New Year phone calls from many nations with a few different time zones (except for those that would be celebrating later in the year), and a purposefully sloppy kiss from Prussia to Canada on his cheek. Both did not mind nor care, instead only laughing it off and making joking comments about less slobber since it was a new start to a new year and they were already in the stage between sober and drunk. Neither had gone to their respective rooms, they instead decided at some point between the hours of two and four in the morning to fall asleep in the living room. They were only accompanied by their pets who resided near the yet to be taken down Christmas tree. Both had been awaken by chirping and only glanced at their surroundings; Prussia having fallen asleep vertically upside down on the couch and Canada laying face down on a nearby loveseat that was too small to let himself stretch.

When the sunlight was able to hit Prussia face and was able to wake him up, he grumbled and then yawned. "So, what's up Birdie?" A tired smile was given and then a few popping noises could be heard as the nation tried to carefully maneuver and stretch himself out from his rather uncomfortable position.

It was Canada's turn to wake up as he kept only one of his eyes open. "Yeesh…" A turn of his head to face the other and then a glance to the windows. "It's already the afternoon and I feel like I haven't slept at all." Another yawn.

"Does this mean that I'll make the food this time?" A slow nod in agreement let Prussia head over to the kitchen as Canada tried to sleep a little bit more in the meantime.

The day had been rather uneventful, as they only spent their time hanging out a bit more and then later on finding a gift that had been left by America when he visited before Prussia had. Only being told about it by the nation himself who thought the best hiding place was the messy attic, to which Prussia commented was true, and it was after they had found the gift that they discovered a few movies to spend their time watching. In the meantime, while searching for said gift, Prussia had been able to find a telescope.

"Hey, Birdie, is this yours?"

"No, it's Alfred's. He brought it over once and said it would just be easier to keep it here instead of bringing it over every time."

"Can we use it later?" A bright smile was full of anticipation to see the stars.

A teasing smile was given in return. "Maybe…"

* * *

After waiting for it to be dark, they had gone up to and then through Canada's room since it had a deck where they could place the telescope and get a good view of the sky. It was only a few minutes before they could finish setting it up and getting everything done.

Offering to Prussia the view first, he gladly took the offer and gazed into the telescope.

It was breathtaking.

Looking up at it with a naked eye was one thing, even if it was still beautiful nonetheless, but at a closer view it felt as if you could see beyond stars and galaxies. As if you were enveloped by all of it. The stars were seen easily due to being farther from the city lights and the dark sky only made them appear brighter in contrast. Millions were dotted everywhere, almost as if they were simply splattered on by the bristles of a paint brush. Prussia's gaze had gone from the telescope and had briefly landed on Canada's face. It was meant to be only a second, but as the canadian was mesmerized by the galaxy that he knows by heart above him, the prussian was mesmerized by the beauty in not only the sky, but him as well.

Every single detail was spectacular to him.

Every freckle that peppered his cheeks, the glimmer in his eyes, the contours of his jaws, the wavy hair peeking out of his knit hat, the way his smile was just a little crooked to the left, how pale his lashes were against his dark violet eyes, even the little curl he would absentmindedly blow away only to have it return to its original spot.

He couldn't help but analyze the beauty in his looks.

It was when Canada turned his head to look him was Prussia then taken out of his trance

"You're leaving tomorrow, right?"

Still not exactly paying attention, he answered somewhat absent mindedly. "Oh, yeah. Why?"

"Well, if you visit me again this month or in Febuary, I can take you to see the Northern Lights if you want to."

At this, he had begun to nod almost wildly to show his support for this new trip.

With a giggle at his enthusiasm, the two returned to watching the night sky, with Prussia occasionally sneaking a glance at the other when they would switch places.

Some time had passed before they grew tired and decided to give their respective 'good nights' to each other. Once Prussia was in his guest room, he was able to change into his pajamas, get ready for bed, and finally get a good amount of sleep.

It was when he was nearing sleep, he was hit with a sudden thought.

Or, rather, memories.

With him paying attention to the northern nation quite often just nearly hour ago, it had made him a bit conscious of any other time he had done it, Well, sure he had done that the first time he talked to him at the meeting, but anyone would if they saw are amazing his eyes were. Maybe he did look at him a hair too long when he had woken up beside him, but in his defense he was only like that by accident and plus the others arms were wrapped around him, not that really would've made that big of a difference. When they were on the boat trip in Rhine… well… did he really have an excuse? His reason was just as good as anything he could come up with for today's incident. Any other time he did so would just be spurs of the moment, done somewhat unconsciously. No thought or reason.

But then why did being reminded of this make him a bit more flustered than usual?

The thoughts became more familiar, more known, all too real.

He sat up in a haste once he realized it.

Hungary and Austria.

These exactly feelings that were given to them are the same ones he feels for Canada.

No, wait, but why did these affections come sooner than it did for the other two?

Was it how warm the canadian was to him? The nation had been kind to him from the get go but was still willing to show him his own personality. No matter what they did, Prussia would always pay attention to smaller details. His kind affections with a smile so bright and friendly and warm and so many other describing words that wouldn't be enough- ... fuck.

Shit.

No.

Canada is an awesome person who can make kickass food, not to mention that he is Prussia's friend, which means that he shouldn't have these feelings for him. He hasn't known him for long enough to even consider this. No way did he feel this way when he first met him, so why now? Why did he realize this when his friendship had become spectacular and was really growing.

He shouldn't jump to any conclusions yet. No, it's still way too early to say anything even similar to 'love'. He could consider it a crush a most.

Yeah.

Something that never really lasts.

Just set some time in between all of this. He'll be visiting again in a while, so if by the end of the trip he still has these feelings then he'll need to stop either denying it or at least own up to it. Just go and ask someone when the time comes what he should do. But of course that's assuming that this lasts.

Deciding that maybe too much time has past with him thinking about this, he lies back down and decides that some rest may let him think a little bit clearer on all of these emotions.

* * *

In the morning, Prussia realizes two things.

1\. Having a crush is a bitch.

2\. Knowing you have a crush is a bigger bitch.

Sure, he could always tell that Canada, along with any other nation, was attractive. But once he realized his little sentiments during the night, his acknowledgment snowballed into something more than that.

Anything that was a unique constant to the canadian, such as how when he cooked in the kitchen he seemed to move along with a tune he would hum along to, he noticed with a greater ease and even thought of the quirks as cute. While he still acted the same way he always did with him, he found himself spacing out more while absent mindedly staring at him, never really meaning to. It was the simple reason of attraction, or at least thats what he told himself.

The breakfast was quick and soon the two were heading off to the airport, finding it a little crowded since many people were going back home.

Stopping in front of baggage claim, they both gave their goodbyes.

"It's been great having you here for the holidays, Gil! I still really love the present you gave me!"

"If that sounds better to you than the fucking house you gave me, I'd say I'm flattered." A light punch to his arm was given in reply. "But, no, seriously though, I'm glad I was able to come over. Maybe you can visit me again?" Prussia tried a little too hard to make sure his voice didn't sound too hopeful.

"Of course! I don't really have many meetings at the beginning of the year, so just tell me when! And remind me that I still owe you a trip to see the Northern Lights, alright?"

Prussia's smile grew brighter and he quickly nodded.

At the sound of a flight attendant alerting them that the plane is nearing it's preparation for take off, Canada gave a hug and a wave good bye, leaving Prussia rather flustered at the hug as he left for the plane.

After finding his seat on the plane, he realized that he still had no idea what he would do with this new realization at all. While taking into consideration how he felt from a simple hug, he could only think of one thing.

'I'm screwed.'

* * *

Hey! So I hope you guys like this little turning point, as we are finally getting somewhere in this little plot. I've realized that a few of my recent chapters don't have too much dialogue, but it's mostly because I'm trying to get farther in Prussia's thoughts and how he feels. Which is what leads to all of this! I also know that it may seem a bit odd the way he's reacting towards his feelings but, while I will explain better in a later chapter, it's not that he won't accept that chance of him having feelings, but it's closer to the "he's my friend and I don't want to ruin things" type of scenario. I hope you guys liked this chapter, and if you think there's anything you think I should improve on, or if there's anything you liked or disliked make sure to review! "ヽ(´▽｀)ノ"


	22. Relationships

Arriving in Berlin, Prussia had taken a taxi to get home, not having the urge to disrupt his brother in what ever he may be doing. It was rare for him not to do so, since he would always do it in an act to annoy the uptight nation as a light hearted joke, but Prussia had realized he had somethings to figure out and decided it would be better to be alone for at least a little bit,

It was after he paid the driver and was almost about to open the door to his brother's house, that he opened on it's own and he was then bombarded with too many questions to count as they tumbled out of Italy's mouth. Oh, yeah. Prussia had completely forgotten that the Christmas gift was all due to the help of his planning.

"Ah, Gilbert! Did you like your trip to Canada? Oh! Wait! Did you like your present? At first Matthew didn't really want to do anything for Christmas because he was really nervous that nobody would want to come and visit him, but then when you asked him to visit he had gotten so excited I couldn't believe it! He sounded so happy..."

As Italy grew nostalgic, Prussia took the chance to give a simple answer.

"Yeah... Yeah, I really liked it." He gave the other a pat on his head. "Thanks for helping, Feli." He left to his basement as the other still basked in the gratitude he was given.

Giving thought to how he had been acting so far in his return home, not much had changed, but more often than not he would spend time only with his thoughts revolving around his feelings. He still was worried about losing such a good friendship. The thought of asking a friend had come to mind more than once, but the only one he could think of asking was either France or Italy, maybe Hungary or Austria if he really needed help. Although, given the history that France knows more than anyone when it relates to him (and even more so from experience) he may be more difficult to talk to.

Knowing that the nation is still rather protective of what used to be one of his colonies, Prussia had concluded it would be better to either ask him once he was sure of his feelings, or at least do it in more subtle manners.

Although, the more that Prussia would think of it, the more he realized how foreign this emotion was for him. Sure, he's been with many people (including some of the nations), his relationships with them were more for fun and honestly never had any type of romantic feelings involved. By his terms, he was honestly only 'fuck buddies' with them, and even then it was only when he was an actual nation. Although he had distant from most of them way before his nation had dissolved.

Sure, he was able to keep conversations with some of them now, but he had reverted back to only acquaintances with them. The thought made him a bit sad, mostly because he did like the feeling of company.

Although, this can also bring Canada back to mind. Is that the only reason as to why he had those thoughts towards him? Well, the possibility is there, but he knew himself better than to think that. He wouldn't want to simply be with the Northern nation just to lessen the feelings of loneliness he would feel on occasion. If he ever wanted to hang out with him, he would only think of the nation, not of his feelings (or at least any sad ones).

Shit.

Maybe Prussia really should go and ask someone. Although, who was the closest?

A bang and a crash answered his unspoken question.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Prussia began to trek up the stairs to the main floor before heading to the kitchen.

Finding Italy cleaning up the mess he had made, Prussia decided that now would be a good time to talk, especially since whatever he had been making seemed to be in the oven and there was still an hour on the timer.

"H-hey Feli. You got a moment to talk?"

"Hmm? Ok, sure!"

After walking to the living room and getting comfortable on the couch, Italy began to talk.

"Ve... What did you need to talk about? Ooh! Is it about Matthew?"

Becoming flustered way too easily at the assumption, and an accurate one at that, Prussia struggled for an answer. "W-what!? N-no way. I mean Mattie's really cool and all, and yeah I guess we hang out a lot, b-but that doesn't mean there's anything going on, right?" The awkward laugh ending his jabber wasn't really something that helped prove his point, but Italy accepted it.

"Oh, ok. But, then, what do you need to talk about?"

"Right, I needed to ask you something. Um, well, when you realized you liked my bro... what did you do?"

Italy's face lit up at the nostalgia of his feelings. "Hmm... I was really excited when I found out, because I felt like we had gotten close enough that I would always want to be around him, but, I was scared."

This had gotten Prussia's attention. "Why?"

"Luddy had proposed to me once... before I had started to like him..." He began to giggle. "He was so nervous that day. Although, when I started to like him more, I was really, really worried. Back then, if I tried to talk to him about to the proposal, he would always deny it, just say it was too much chocolate and sugar in his system from Valentine's Day and that it wasn't letting him think straight. So I was really scared... because... what if Luddy didn't want to think about me that way, what if he would say he never proposed because he was ashamed of feeling that way about me. Ve, the whole thing made me want to cry, and I didn't know what to do." Italy glanced at Prussia, who seemed enthralled in the story. "But then I began to think, 'What if I don't do anything? What if because I'm too scared of doing something, that'll we'll never be together just because I'm afraid?'... And then, I only did what I knew to do. Talk to him. I was so scared I felt like crying in front of him, but before I did I only told him how I felt, and once I said that, I didn't feel like crying anymore. I confessed to him, and then before I knew what happened, he was hugging me. He told me he felt the same way, and as I just stayed there, hugging him back, I knew had made the best decision I could've made."

"Wow. Feli, I didn't know."

"Ve, he doesn't like it when I talk about it, he gets embarrassed." He began to giggle again. "But did that help?"

"Maybe a little. But we haven't known each other like how you and West have known each other."

The Italian's eyebrows furrowed in thought at the realization. "Hmmm. Well, who is it then?"

"A nation..."

"Do something for them that they like! Luddy knows I like desserts so he sometimes he bakes me his own recipes! They always turn out so good."

"That sounds... pretty good actually. Thanks Feli! I'll think about it." Getting up and off of the couch to head down to his room, Italy called out to him.

"Matthew will love whatever you do!"

A cry of denial was the only thing that could be heard before a fit of laughter.

* * *

Browsing his phone, Prussia wondered what he could do, or what he should do. There was the fact that they've only been friends with each other for a few months, so he couldn't just outright start dating him. Maybe just doing things that interest him would work. But what to do. What are somethings that Canada liked? He liked nature, hockey, maple flavored anything, ice cream, what else? He loved books. Maybe a book date-that-is-not-actually-a-date would work out. Doing little things likes Italy said would probably get them closer. There was also the plan to meet up in a week so that they could see the Northern Lights. He could probably make some things happen and the just go along with whatever happens to them.

Smiling, he was glad his plan seemed to have a definite ending. Or, at least, one that he would like.

* * *

Arriving at the Canadian airport rather late due to some issues that sounded made up to Prussia, he was surprised when he nearly lost his balance in a hug that came from behind him.

Prying the nations arms off of him, Prussia turned around and saw Canada. For the first time in a while, he wasn't wearing his usual red hoodie. He stood in a cardigan that was a little too big for him (it was long enough to reach his knees and cover a little of his hands), with a sweater lying on underneath it. His regular tattered jeans were replaced with dark skinny ones, although he kept on his usual sneakers, and he had a large scarf on that covered most of the bottom of his face. Overall, to Prussia, the only word that he could come up with was 'cute'.

Glancing at the surprised expression on Prussia's face, Canada snickered. "I see you've noticed the new wardrobe. Over the weekend the first thing Papa did when he visited me was immediately go to my closet and throw nearly everything away. He kept on screaming something about how I'm not keeping up well with fashion, how his influence should be better on me for this, and how dressing well is the only way I'll impress someone. He stayed for one more day to get clothes and then left with a kiss on the cheek and I swear I could see a blur and had felt a gust of wind when he was getting out of my house."

"Well I won't lie when I say that you look good. Francy Pants is usually pretty amazing when it comes to this kind of stuff." Not to mention that the Northern nation didn't look too bad in those skinny jeans to Prussia.

The reply was jokingly deadpan. "Thanks. I always have the most confidence when my father throws away all of my clothing."

* * *

Arriving to the warm house, Prussia was met with the smell of baked goods that were amazing enough to make his mouth water.

"Oh, Gil, Papa and me also made some cookies if you want some. I got kinda carried away though since now I have a few dozen other cookies in the oven." He seemed sheepish as he confessed his love for the baked sweets.

Alreading having rushed to the kitchen, and with a few cookies already in his mouth, Prussia gave a hasty reply. "Well, 'f you don't want 'ny I'll eat 'em!"

Canada giggled "Well, don't let me stop you." He walked to the plate near Prussia and snatched one that he had been holding. With a smirk, he laughed. "Leave some for me though!"

* * *

Hey you guys. I'm super sorry for leaving this story in a sudden hiatus for nearly a month but many things came up (including grades) so I haven't been able to update. Sadly, and I really hate to say it, but I'll have to return to my usual unscheduled updates. Since school is getting more intense as the year goes on, I don't have time to get chapters done a head of time. BUT, I will reassure you guys that I will never leave this story as incomplete. Also this is a good lesson for my future stories which I AM writing when I can so that by the time I begin to post them I'll have the story complete. As always, if you guys liked this chapter or think there's something I should improve on then send me a review! (*^▽^*)


	23. Snow Angels

"Hey, Gil?"

Gaining Prussia's attention, he lifted his head from the book he was enthralled with.

"Yeah?"

The two had decided to travel to Canada's bookshelf in hopes of finding something interesting. Seizing the opportunity at hand, Prussia had immediately grabbed the first book he was able to find about the nation's history and had asked him to talk about it as much as he could. Canada was pleased with the sudden interest and didn't hesitate to talk about his own nation, but eventually they ran out of things to talk about, and while Canada returned to reading a fantasy book, Prussia still continued to look for as much history as he could possibly manage to find.

"Do you think you would want to go see the Northern Lights tomorrow? I was going to suggest we go today, but by the time your plane came we would've gotten there way too late."

"Don't worry, Mattie. I'd love to go tomorrow." And plus there good be a chance of him making a move on the nation, of course, if things went how he would prefer them to.

"Alright! Oh, and also, we'll be staying in this cabin in the mountains that's perfect to view the lights!"

"Like, all alone?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's kinda solitary since it'll only be the two of us and stuff, you know?"

Perfect. "Nah, I just wanted to clarify."

They became enthralled in their books once again, or, at least, Canada did. Prussia had spent his time mentally planning the trip for the next day.

* * *

It was already tomorrow before either could realize it. Both had packed a few things in a few bags and were double checking their things downstairs, nearly ready to head towards their cabin.

"Alright!" Canada took a quick glance around them and listed a few things around them. "Clothes. Check. Telescope. Check. Phones and chargers. Check and check." Murmuring about a few more things, he lifted his head and looked at Prussia will bright eyes. "We're ready to go!"

At the announcement, Prussia began to move theirs things to the car.

Three days without any interruptions whatsoever. Perfect.

"So Quebec's coming in an hour, right?"

Canada was on his knees as he said goodbye to his bear. "Yeah, and don't worry about anything alright. My provinces can be responsible too!"

Walking over to the house's entrance, Gilbird fluttered out and up to Prussia's hair. Before getting comfortable, Prussia picked up the yellow bird and placed him atop Kumajirou's head. It didn't take long for the bird to become comfortable again in the soft white fur.

"Alright Gilbird, be on your best behavior and turn your back on the bear." He got a playful smack on his upper arm from Canada in response. "Okay, okay. We'll be back in a little bit."

With parting words to their pets, they locked the house doors, put a spare under the welcome mat, and got into the car.

"So, Birdie, tell me more about this whole 'cabin in the woods' thing we're going to cause I'm not ready yet to be in a place that sounds like a horror movie scene."

Getting a laugh out of the Canadian, he shifted his eyes occasionally to Prussia as he drove. "Don't worry. It's a pretty modern place that I've been going to for a while now. Sometimes Al and maybe even on the occasion Mogens or Ivan would join me and just hang out and stuff. Since it's not by any buildings and there aren't any other cabins that close you can see the stars in such an amazing way." He turned to the albino for a moment. "I mean, what you saw at my house is nothing compared to how amazing it'll be where we're going."

"Wow Mattie, way to raise my expectations up." He chuckled at how excited the nation was to go to his usual hangout spot. The way his face was just the slightest bit flushed from both the cold and his energy gave him such a cute look as he continued to talk about his experiences at the cabin. "This place sounds really nice. It sounds fun."

"I know you'll love it. It even has this comfy little fireplace and it all just really nice and stuff. I'll make us hot chocolate if you would want."

Prussia's face perked up at the thought of food. He smirked. "Promise?"

"Promise." Canada stated as he smiled.

It had taken some time to actually get to the cabin itself. With so many twists, turns, and detours taken in wrong places from both of their faulty memories, even though they had left early in the morning the sun was already close to setting at their arrival.

The image of where the two would be staying for the next few days was rather picturesque in Prussia's opinion; snow that looked as soft as powder, white dusted trees, warm lights emanating from inside their cabin, and even a lovely sense of comfort that practically radiated off the area as a whole.

While Prussia would usually be one to whip his phone out and take too many photos to count for blog, instead the first thing he did flop on his back onto the white snow.

"Why doesn't it snow like this in Germany!?"

He could hear Canada giggling at how he exclaimed he loved the snow completely surrounding him. As the blond walked up to him, he was gently nudged with the nation's boot by his shoulder.

"C'mon. If you help me put all of our stuff away then we can come back out here. That sound like a deal?"

Giving a fake sigh, Prussia sat up and got off of the snow. "Fine, fine."

As they walked back towards the car and grabbed what they brought with them, (Prussia grabbing a few of Canada's things as well, stating that it wouldn't be awesome of him to help when Canada tried to coerce him to make their efforts more even) once the blond opened up the cabin, Prussia couldn't look more forward to what was ahead of them. Even with most of the comforts having been a given, everything was still given the modern touch that made it feel a little more luxurious than what could be considered common. As they walked inside, both having taken off their snow covered boots, Canada spoke as he lead the Prussian to their rooms.

"Well, I really hope you like it here and remember that whatevers mine is yours too!"

He pointed to a few areas of the main floor, mostly showing where they had the usual things: bathrooms, kitchen, living room, and to Prussia's surprise, a jacuzzi where the backyard would be. Near the back of the floor was where all the bedrooms were, spare or not. Once Prussia was told which one he would be staying in, he immediately rushed and unpacked as neatly and as quickly as he could manage.

When entering Canada's own bedroom, only having to go to the door on his right, he found the nation had barely even made a dent in what he had brought. After convincing the shy nation to let him help with the unpacking since it would let them have more time outside, they went outside into the cold air.

With the sun reaching it's final moments in the sky, everything had a rosy hue. When Canada pointed this out, Prussia realized he had taken more time staring and admiring how pink the blond's cheeks and plump lips were instead of the sky above them. When he realized he was still staring, even after he was asked a question, he shook his head a bit as he looked away for a moment.

"Um, sorry, Birdie. What did you say?" Prussia shoveled some snow away from him with the side of his boot.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to do anything in specific is all. I mean, we have plenty of time." The nation took a few steps here and there as the albino tried to come up with something for them to do, not noticing that the blond's hands were both behind his back.

"There's a lot of stuff that we could d-" Prussia was cut off as he felt a snowball hit his chest with surprising accuracy while Canada was giggling and laughing as the albino's shock. "Oh?" He started smirking. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" He knelt down to make a few snowballs. "Well get ready then, Birdie!" He started laughing as he ran towards the sound of the Canadian's laughter.

Somehow, he had been able to hide himself rather well, blending in with the trees and his surroundings incredibly. With occasional giggled and the sound of snow crunching as his only sources of reference, Prussia did what he could to find the blond. A snap of a twig and the Prussian turned towards it, only to feel a snowball hit his back.

Acting as if he had been shot, the albino dropped to his knees (still holding onto the snowballs) while dramatically calling out to his attacker. "I've been hit! Who knew such a sweet and innocent little bird could do something so vicious!" He made a few 'dying noises' as he heard footsteps behind him.

In front of him, Canada knelt down to his haunches, a crooked smile on his face. "I'm not that 'sweet and innocent', y'unno."

As soon as they exchanged smiles and split second eye contact, Prussia smushed a snowball onto the blond's face. Standing as fast as he could, he began to try to find somewhere to hide as he saw the blond making a few more snowballs. The nation had gotten rid of most of the snow but some still stuck to his hair. He wasn't angry at all, and if anything, he looked forward to what he was challenged.

With the thought of preparation in mind, Prussia tried to make a few more snowballs while he tried to hide behind some of the taller piles of snow. "Hey, Mattie!"

Not even taking a second to stop his snow hoarding, he replied. "Yeah?" Even though it was still a little light out, he couldn't even manage to see any little hint that would let him know where the Prussian was.

Prussia started to laugh, coming close to his usual cackle. "Try to find the albino in the snow!" He continued to do his best to stay out of the blond's vision as he tried to dodge glances and instead distract him.

"C'mon Gil! You know I'll find you!" The nation had a wide smile on his face, eyes shining with mischief. He carried a single snowball with him, all others having been left near him.

In return to the exclamation, Prussia threw a twig at a tree near the Canadian. Successfully able to distract him, believing that Prussia might've been near the pine, he threw a snowball.

Crying out for only a moment from the shock of the chill ice on his back, he turned around to find his 'enemy' out in the open, snowballs in hand. He himself had been quick enough to have a few in his hands, rather small, but enough to let him have accuracy.

They both stared at each other, neither moving, lips quivering as they tried to stop themselves from laughing and losing their serious facades.

A step forward from Prussia and Canada threw at him, barely grazing his shoulder. Afterwards they both threw as haphazardly as they could, the Canadian doing what he could to dodge the Prussian's ammo and vice versa. At one point the blond successfully hit the other's chest a few time in a row so as a reaction he once again fell to his knees and then on his back as he faked his own death (accompanied by 'dying noises').

As the albino laid as still as he could on the snow, tongue lolling out and eyes a little odd, the blond walked up to him and nudged him once again.

"What's my prize since I won?" He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling a bit.

Prussia raised his arm. "Helping me get up."

"What an amazing reward." He stretched his arm out to grasp at the other's hand, but when he was about to pull the other to his feet, he was tugged down instead.

In a flurry of movement, laughter, and some stray snow flying around them, Canada fell on top of Prussia. As he moved around for a moment, he sat a little above of Prussia's hips, straddling him but not really seeming to mind or care. He continued to laugh and giggle, looking down at Prussia as his shoulders shook from his quiet joy.

While Canada was simply laughing at how funny the situation was to him, Prussia was more enraptured with the sight before him. As the Canadian leaned a little further down, his silky blond hair surrounded his face. His cheeks were as flushed as his lips and he was slightly out of breath from all of their running. His eyes shone even though it was dark outside and the background of the night sky illuminated by gently glowing stars made him seem absolutely gorgeous.

The Prussian was absolutely speechless.

"H-hey."

A gentle smile. "Hey."

"What are you even laughing about anyway?"

"You blend in with the snow!" Some more giggling accompanied his words.

Before Prussia could retort, Canada leaned over to his right and flopped onto the snow. Scooting only the slightest bit away, he began to move his arms and legs back and forth, up and down. He laid there making a snow angel while Prussia tried to catch up with his movements. Even though his were a bit less organized and way more hasty, he still did what he could to make the outcome a little more admirable. Once they laid for a few more moments, they did their best to get up off of the ground as they tried to not ruin their angels.

While Canada was a little more successful in maintaining his snow angel, when Prussia had tried to get to his feet he tried instead. Falling on his face, most of the bottom was ruined and he was left on the ground with a little remorse. Taking Canada's hand to get help standing up for a moment, they both turned to look back at their little creations.

In the pristine snow, the Canadian's angel looked practically perfect, the 'dress' looking as smooth as possible and the 'sleeves' even. On the left, the Prussian's angel was more or less something that resembled an angel. The entirety of the bottom was distorted from his tripping, and then the 'sleeves' were uneven and had heavy hand indentations.

Yet even with all the 'little' imperfections, Canada still praised him.

Shoving him in only the slightest with both of their shoulders, the nation did what he could to raise the other's spirits. "I think your's looks pretty good."

With a not so heavy sigh and a boyish smile, Prussia turned to him. "Thanks."

"C'mon, lets go inside. If it'll make you feel better, I have some hot chocolate inside with your name on it."

"With marshmallows?"

"Of course. Now, c'mon." He tugged gently at the other's hand to lead him towards their cabin.

Trailing behind the Canadian, Prussia followed him to the door, both took off their snow caked boots, and then headed towards the warm kitchen.

Once they were able to take off their extra jackets, scarves, and anything meant for being in the snow, they were left in the regular clothing. While Canada fixed the garish oversized sweater he had on since it had ridden up, Prussia was busy fixing his own black pullover.

After they were both able to get comfortable was Canada able to take out what they needed to make their hot chocolate. In the time that the milk was boiling and the chocolate was beginning to melt, Prussia had gone off to light the fireplace and let it warm up a bit. Staying nearby to warm his hands a bit, he felt a few gentle taps in his shoulder. Turning, Prussia found Canada getting comfortable next to him as he moved to sit cross legged.

Passing one of the mugs to him, he appeared a little concerned. "Ah. I really hope you like it. I wasn't really sure what you would want on it since usually people don't really like it plain so I only put in marshmallows and whipped cream on it since I figured that it would be a safe bet for you to actually like, but I mean if you don't like it then I can go change it if yo-"

"Woah, Birdie. Don't worry, alright." He took a sip from the red mug, his eyes widening at the flavor. "Ok, yeah, you definitely don't need to worry about this." He took another sip, unaware of some of the cream on his nose. "Shit, this is really good!"

Canada gave a short laugh once visible relief flew through him. "I'm glad you do, but," He leaned up and over to get rid of some of the whipped cream off of Prussia's nose with his thumb. "Try to be careful, okay?" Sucking off the excess off of his thumb, he began to drink as he basked in the comfort from the mantle and of his company.

Prussia on the other hand was beginning to blush rather vividly at what the Canadian had just done. Although, that didn't mean that he didn't do everything he could to sit just the tiniest bit closer to the blond.

* * *

"If you don't hurry putting on your jacket we'll miss out on the lights!"

As Canada called to Prussia from the backyard, said nation was trying to get his clothing on as fast as he was able to. Even though he was too excited for words to see what exactly the Northern lights would look like there, it didn't mean that he was fine with freezing till he was numb.

Once he was able to get to the backyard without losing any feeling in his hands, he met up with Canada who was trying to fix some part of the telescope.

"Can't we see the lights without this?"

"Yeah, but," He bent down to twist one of the nobs by the eyepiece. "It's still good to make sure that this works so we can see the stars and stuff." He continued fiddling with the telescope some more.

Nodding his head, the albino began to look up to the sky, seeing the faintest lines of bright colors. With time passing by as they waited for the colors and lights to begin to seep into the sky, they continued mindlessly talking to each about anything and everything they could come up with, yet never really finishing any of their conversations. At one point the Prussian even ended up help, and successfully fixing, the telescope.

After a little more chatting, Canada's gaze had gone from him to the stars above and Prussia did the exact same thing. As the stared at the bright and vivid lights that appeared above them, they were both speechless. The hues of varying greens, whites, and specks of yellow were strung the (previously dark) sky. With the colors vibrantly dancing up above them, both had taken that the appropriate response would be to loudly gasp and call the attention of the other to point something that called their own.

"Woah, Mattie! Do you see that over there?" Pointing with a gloved hand, the general direction was much more colorful than what was directly above them.

"Yeah, I do!" He glanced to the albino for only a split second. "Do you like it so far, Gil?"

"Hell yeah! This looks so awesome!" He turned to the blond. "I can't even believe that you can see this nearly all the time!" Scooting just a little bit closer, Canada accidentally nudged their elbows and shoulders to close the gap.

"Well, if you like it that much, I should invite you here more often." He looked up at Prussia, violet eyes illuminating under the lights. "I've really enjoyed having you here with me."

In the moment, Prussia could've sworn that it was the best moment for him to kiss the other with all of the passion in him.

But he didn't.

He could've swooped down and admitted his feelings to Canada in a flurry of words and and love and simply tied up what could be considered loose ends.

But he didn't.

All the nation could do was stand there gazing at the younger's face with as much as love as he could muster to rival the blond's own. He couldn't make himself do that to them. It didn't feel like a good time. It would be too much too soon, and with how casual the nation was with him, the albino might not be looked at with rose tinted glasses.

And yet, he was fine with that. While he would still try to subtly woo the nation with his actions, the Prussian didn't worry too much if his attempts failed him miserably.

As long as he could stay as the other's friend and keep their company, he would be happy.

* * *

Once the lights began to dim from their lack of magnitude, the pair decided it would be best to go inside and get some rest. Although they did stay in front of the mantle a little while longer as they told little stories here and there that related to whatever was the first thing they talked about, too far to remember how they started. While they shared blankets, Prussia hogging a few more to his side, they warmed up to the crackling fire before they went their separate ways for the night.

After Prussia had changed into his pyjamas, did his regular routine for the night, and said 'goodnight' to Canada, he went to bed. Yet, while he laid in bed under a few layers of blankets, he couldn't go to sleep. He was too caught up with either nothing or everything. Reminders of his lack of a nation were the first things to come up, then came how everyone around him thought that he had one. When he thought of his lack of a nation, he thought of instead the micronation given to him, how he still needed to make plans for him to move there, to have an easier time visiting Canada and vise versa. When the thought of the Canadian came up, Prussia became enamoured with the thoughts of him: his personality, how much he cared about others even if he didn't always get the same treatment, how even though he was sweet enough to give the albino a cavity he did have his own bite to his words on the occasion, how he loved attention even though it made him a little flustered if he ever got it…

Shit.

If he continued thinking like this then he would probably have a hard time going to sleep.

Turning his head, he stared at the bright red numbers on the electric clock. Three in the morning and he needed to get some sleep. Getting up off the bed and then head out of his room towards the kitchen, he went to the refrigerator for some water. After getting something to drink and cleaning the glass he dirtied, he turned and saw that the fireplace was still lightly burning. Walking towards it, he heard murmuring behind him. Turning around he found Canada on a near by couch, snoozing with a blanket loosely on him and a phone in his hand as it alerted of an empty battery.

Yawning, Prussia started to lean in to cover the nation with his blanket better. As he did so, he felt arms wrap loosely around him.

Canada leaned up to nuzzle into Prussia's shoulder. "'m cold." Mumbling a bit more in his sleep, he slowly moved the albino to lay beside him on the couch, never letting go.

Sighing softly, he gently grabbed Canada's shoulder. He whispered. "C'mon Birdie. We gotta get you to bed. It's too cold here right now." He tried to move off of the couch, but the blond's grip was still strong and firm.

"No." He said simply before he began to snore lightly, burrowing further into Prussia's arms.

Sighing just the slightest bit louder, the Prussian accepted his demise rather easily, falling asleep on the couch as the fireplace completely dimmed.

* * *

Mogens - Netherlands

Ivan - Russia

I'm back! Not to mention writing longer chapters! So far this one is nearing 5k and it's the longest one so far in this story. In the time that I left you all alone with no updates, I've been able to fix the earlier chapters since they had to many grammar errors to count. Also, I noticed that I've passed the fifty count for reviews, follows, and favorites, which meant that I wanted to thank you guys so, so, so, much for all of this and also for not complaining at how slow i was with updating this. So I'll be holding something similar to a contest!.

I'll be writing any one-shots or short stories to the winners (anything is fine, including ratings), and there will be up to three winners. To enter, you have to either review, follow, or favorite this story. If you happen to be the 100th to do so with any of these three, I'll send you a message letting you know. Please be aware though if you don't answer a week into me sending the message, you'll be replaced with the 99th person and it'll go from there.

Basically this means, that even if you've already followed and favorited this story, you can still have a chance by reviewing. Be aware that if you or someone else ends up winning in more than just one area, than that means that they've won more than just one story; i.e. if you win all three, you get three stories. If you have any questions just send me a message.

If you guys want to see examples of my short stories, theyre on my AO3 account: valzilla

I wish you guys the best of luck in winning! And remember to review and tell me what you liked and what you think I should improve on! See you next time!


	24. Snowmen

"_Non, Papa, je pense vraiment. Oui, je sais, et je suis d'être complètement heureux avec la façon dont les choses vont_."

Waking up on the couch from last night, Prussia rubbed his dry eyes as he sat up, blanket sliding off of him and falling to the floor. He could hear Canada speaking to France on the phone, a little embarrassed if the tone of his voice indicated anything. Standing up from the couch, Prussia fixed his pajamas pants so that they wouldn't be hanging too low on his hips before heading over to the kitchen, floorboards creaking on the occasion.

"_Oui, oui, je sais, mais rai-_" The blond paused for a moment, "_Que voulez-vous dire que je besoin de conseils!? Je suis capable de faire cela sur mon propre!_" Giving a huff of breath, his face returned to a gentle expression. "_Je sais. Aimez-vous, au revoir._" Giving a kiss to the phone for a goodbye before hanging up, he didn't yet realize that Prussia had simply been standing around as he waiting for the blond to finish his conversation. Turning around, he acknowledged the Prussian's presence with a little jump from surprise.

"_Morgen_'**.**" He started walking towards the startled blond.

"Oh! Morning. Sorry, I didn't see you there."

He stopped in front of him before scruffing the shorter's still messy bed head. "It's fine. Don't worry." He yawned rather loudly before heading towards the refrigerator. "Who were you talking to anyway?" He spoke under his breath. "I swear to god if it was Franny bothering you again..."

Canada, the moment he heard the name of his used to be caretaker, immediately moved as quickly as he could. "Ah, well, technically, but..." He waved his hands in front of him haphazardly. "I- I mean- I mean that it was just business! Our bosses were talking and he just wanted to let me know about it!" He slowed down. "I mean, you don't have to worry about him, and if anything, he's just... trying to show that he cares... I guess."

Prussia grabbed some milk out of the refrigerator. "What do you mean 'you guess'?"

"Hmm... well... how do I put this...?" He sat on one of the kitchen counters, warm mug of coffee in his hands. legs dangling off of the ground. "I think it was around last year." His eyes looked up to the ceiling as he tried to put his thoughts together. "It was a little early in November, I think. He had called me one day and started giving me promises about how he would call me more often and make sure to 'pay attention to his little colony'. Then after he finished apologizing and refusing to let me assure him that there wasn't any problems with what he did," He ignored the face Prussia sent him. "He did what he could to make sure he kept his promise. Now yearly calls are becoming monthly and now weekly, and honestly I kinda like it." He gave a soft smile as he stared at the phone beside him, eyes slightly glazing. "Since he never really showed initiative to ever really talk to me, ever since that month, now he does all he can to show that he cares. It may look like to you that he's being overprotective for nothing, but every single time he calls, I feel like I could probably be the most loved person in the world."

Hopping off the granite counter, Canada walked over to Prussia. "And I guess I have you to thank." He gave Prussia a tight hug full of sincerity.

Returning the hug after a few seconds, he was a bit confused. "What the hell did I do?"

Loosening his grip on the Prussian and then going back to his drink, he glanced at the albino. "Well, when he called in November the first thing he told me was that you were right and that he should've been the one to tell you that he was right about something between the two of you." He chuckled. "I'm still not sure what he meant from that since everything was kinda slurred since he wouldn't stop his over the top crying, but I was able to get a pretty good idea of what he meant."

"Ah, well, did he say anything else about me?"

"He mentioned how your eyes look like rubies and your skin like pure snow." He snickered to himself. "The only thing he really said was that he'd been meaning to hang out with you again and stuff."

Giving an internal sigh of relief that their little fight was not mentioned, Prussia drunk some of the leftover coffee. "Well, shit. I guess I'll have to call him or something." He sipped at his mug. "So what are today's plans anyway?"

"Well, I was kinda wondering if you were fine with walking around the woods here for a little? It's always really nice and pretty and just gives off such a nice feeling."

"Sounds like a plan to me. I'll get ready after breakfast." He also remembered something else. "And... umm... sorry for falling asleep like practically on you on the couch." He was a bit embarrassed that the blond witnessed the whole thing since he woke up first.

Becoming a little flustered, Canada tried to lift the awkward atmosphere. "Don't worry! I mean, I kinda remember being really tired after I finished talking to Quebec last night. Then I felt something try to get me off the couch, but then I hugged this giant teddy bear... oh!" His cheeks grew brighter. "If anything, it's my fault." He murmured, his face growing even more crimson as each second passed.

While being compared to a teddy bear did make him become flustered, Prussia was still able to maintain some of his cool. "Nah… It's fine." He turned his head away. "I hope I didn't squish you or anything."

Canada giggled lightly. "No, I was fine." He passed by Prussia to reach the refrigerator, whispering to him. "You do like cuddling, though." He laughed as he quickly turned around and leisurely ran out of the kitchen.

Prussia began to chase after him, his face still a little red from how flustered he was. "Get the hell back here!" His threatening words were hollow as he laughed and smiled at their chase. Running into the couch when not paying attention, he flipped onto it but still able to land pretty well. "Jeez, Birdie, where the hell did you go."

Leaning in from behind the couch, Canada got close to Prussia's ear. "Boo." He laughed before finding a new hiding place.

Trying his best to rearrange himself and get off the couch as quickly as possible, he ended up tripping in his own feet when he stood up. Landing on the floor, he then got up again, somewhat hoping the Canada hadn't been able to see him.

Walking around the lodge, unsure of where to go, he heard some laughter and footsteps softened by socks on the wood floor. Turning around and immediately dashing towards the source of the noise, he immediately found Canada. Wrapping his arms around him as if it was the only way he wouldn't escape, both laughed harder and longer than they had been previously.

Both were breathless from their laughter and running by the time Prussia let go of Canada.

With huffs of breath on the occasion, Prussia chuckled in between his words. "So what's on the agenda today, again?"

Laughing, they headed back to the kitchen in attempts to finish their breakfast. While Canada search his fridge for any type of breakfast manageable, Prussia leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Well..." Canada grabbed some milk out of the fridge. "I thought we might try to hike around the forest around here for a change of pace again." He grabbed a few more things, and with his hands full, he closed the door with a bump of his hips. "I mean, nothing too dangerous or energy consuming. There's a path I usually go through that I know from memory since I've gone through it so many times."

Glancing over at Canada, who seemed busy over the stove, Prussia considered the idea. "Sounds pretty good." He paused for only a moment. "Although, aren't there bear and other shit here in the woods?"

"You afraid a fox or rabbit will eat you?"

"W-what!? No! I'm worried for you!" He crossed his arms, hands tightening their grip. "What if I need to protect you from something super dangerous?"

Canada glanced over from the stove, already cooking breakfast. "Like what?"

Prussia huffed as he tried to come up with an answer. "Well... we'll know when we see it!"

Turning off the burner, Canada served the breakfast on two plates, carrying jams and fruits alongside them as well. "Listen, tough guy, how about we worry about what we're gonna eat before we worry about me being attacked by a moose."

Sitting down with a slight frown, Prussia glanced at him and then sighed rather dramatically. "Fine..." Then he looked at the food in front of him. "So what is this, anyways? You were making them pretty fast."

"_Papa_ had spent some time teaching me how to make crepes a while ago. I think I've been able to improve. They're nothing like his but..."

Taking a large forkful, Prussia shoved it in. "Well, shit, if they're anything like your pancakes then I'll have seen everything." Chewing, his eyes grew wide. His voice was a whisper. "Holy shit."

Shoving some more food in his mouth, he tried to eat as much as he could while simultaneously complementing Canada on his incredible cooking.

Flustered from the never ending compliments from Prussia, Canada ate slower while trying to cool his cheeks before they got any more red.

"I don't really think they're as good as you say, but if you like them I can make more one day."

"Is that day today?"

Chuckling, Canada shook his head. "No, I don't have everything for them anymore." He took a bite of his food, a smile seeping through. "But if there's something you want for tomorrow just tell me."

Taking thought to this, Prussia left it for consideration. Nodding, he finished his food, tempted to ask for seconds as he waited for Canada to finish. Of course, he didn't mind though. He looked rather happy eating the food Prussia knew he was proud of.

Then, of course, he noticed something else.

As Canada got to the center of his crepe, the jam in between was rather runny and made his fork rather messy. Deciding it was the best decision, he cleaned it by languidly licking it with his tongue, doing it for almost a moment longer than he should have. Of course, now Prussia was paying attention. His mouth grew dry as he saw the little pink tongue dart out quickly to lick at a little bit of the jam stuck to his upper lip. Licking his own subconsciously, Prussia felt like it would be better to look away. Except he really didn't want to.

When he forced himself away from looking at the delicious pair of lips in front of him, he instead stared at the now empty plate, jam covering it.

Oh no.

Prussia was now captivated with following the slim finger that was dragged across the plate only to be gently sucked on by Canada as he attempted to get as much off the plate as he could manage. Licking his lips once again, Prussia could only stare as Canada continued to swipe his plate clean, seemingly unaware of how sexy and attractive he was appearing to Prussia at the moment. A shiver went down his spine for a moment when Canada glanced at him, so he turned his head away, trying to rid himself of some filthy thoughts that weren't appropriate for ten in the morning.

Wiping off his finger with a napkin beside the plate, Canada got up from his chair and took both his and Prussia's plate. Leaning down, he tried to look at the albino whose eyes refused to meet his own as he sat frozen in place, legs slightly crossed. "Gil? Are you okay?"

Scooting farther away from the blond he was trying to get out of his thoughts, he just hope nothing would be too noticeable. "Y-yeah Mattie, I'm totally fine."

"Just checking." He smiles as he headed towards the sink. Filling it up with water, he began to wash the dirty dishes. "If you want, we can go on the hike after this. It'll be really fun if we can start early."

Without a moment to spare, Prussia stood up and rushed to his bedroom. "Awesome! I'll go get ready now!" Before even taking second to hear a reply, he practically ran to the guestroom and it's accompanied bathroom.

Letting the shower run cold, even though he really wanted some warm water compared to the frigid air, he hopped in after getting out of his pyjamas.

Once he was able to let his problem go away on it's own, and after he washed his body and hair, he left the shower and dried himself. Getting one of his skinny jeans on him, he began to towel dry his hair. Hearing a knock on the locked bedroom door, he headed to open it.

"Hey Gil, I just wanted to know what ti-" Canada's words were cut short as he realized what Prussia had on. Or, rather, the lack of it.

With dark skinny jeans hanging loosely off his hips, only the very top front of his briefs could be a seen: a very darkly colored elastic. He hadn't put on any kind of shirt, which meant that his ivory skin and tough muscles could be seen. His abs and pecs well defined, Canada eyes lingered there for a moment, unbeknownst to Prussia. A few drops of water were here and there as his white hair was being dried, Prussia completely unaware of Canada's own embarrassment.

"Yeah? What happened?" He leaned against the frame of the door, most of his back against the edge.

"Umm..." As the seconds passed by, Canada' face grew redder and redder. His words were tongue tied too far to let him properly speak. "I just, umm, j-just needed to know…" His eyes darted anywhere that wasn't Prussia. "Just w-wanted to know what time you wanted to l-leave..." His blush intensified as the distance between him and Prussia shortened when the albino walked up to him.

"Hmm... I think half an hour works. It alright, right?"

"Yeah, I just need to..." He walk backwards towards his own bedroom door. "Just gotta go!"

Closing the door with an accidentally loud slam, Prussia was left in the hallway, hair dripping and falling to the wood floor.

Heading back to his own bedroom to get ready, Prussia let the other's actions get covered up with other less important thoughts.

* * *

"Yo, Birdie! Are you ready?"

Sitting down by the door Prussia slid on his boots before putting on a rather warm beanie and some gloves. Standing up, he looked outside. No sight of any animals whatsoever. Weird. Although, if it meant that there wouldn't be any trouble then there wouldn't be any issues. Checking the clock nearby, he heard heavy clunks from Canada's rushing.

"Ah! I'm here! My glasses had fallen and I wasn't able to find them." Tilting his glasses up and down, he then put on a jacket and an accompanying scarf along with a pair of earmuffs. "Should we go?"

"Yeah! It'll be fun!" Running out the door, Prussia waited for Canada to lock the entrance before they began their trip.

"Alright, just give me a second, ok?" He chuckled. "I never thought you'd be so excited for a walk around the woods."

"Hell yeah! The woods are always super nice!" He kicked some snow near him, watching it catch air and flutter around them. "There's this one in Germany that when you go through it it's completely pitch black. You can't see shit when you're in it!"

They headed down a barely visible trail, Prussia trusting Canada's own words at they headed to wherever they pleased. Canada took visible pleasure in listening to Prussia's stories of the various naturesque locations he had been to, a smile widening and eyes bright with curiosity as his stories grew more and more vivid. During his stories, he would occasionally attract a bird here and there, taking time to pause his in between his sentences and show the little animals plenty of affection.

"The birds here like you a lot, don't they?"

Turning his head, Prussia had two on his shoulders and one on his head, all of different kinds. "Well, I like birds too so it's a pretty good deal." He smiled brightly, the birds chirping as if they agreed. Letting them fly away and out of sight, he spoke once more. "The animals here like you too, right?" In Prussia's opinion, he couldn't imagine anyone or anything not liking the Canadian nation.

"I guess so, but they never get so close to me so easily. If I tried to get a bird to get on my shoulder they would fly away like they would with everyone else." He sighed rather sadly, disappointment vaguely shown in his voice. "It would be nice though if they were friendly with me like the birds here are with you." His smile was weak as he stared at the other.

Prussia swore that he heard his heart legitimately break into two as he heard Canada sadden at his failed attempts to make animal friends. He stopped walking, coming up with an idea he considered brilliant. "Wait! I've got an awesome idea! Trust me." Doing his best to whistle, spluttering the first few time with a blush on his face when he heard Canada laugh, he was able to call a bird to him. Landing on his shoulder and then heading to his open palm, the bird sat down as it looked comfortable in Prussia's hand.

"You're kinda like Snow White, you know?"

"Whatever." His pale skin grew red. "The reason I called his little cutie anyway is to get you close to them!" He slowly moved his hand towards Canada.

The Canadian in reaction flustered easily. "Oh! But what if he just flies away?" He seemed afraid at just the possibility of that happening.

Stepping closer, he grabbed Canada's wrist, gently opening his hand. "Don't worry. Just don't make any loud noises. They'll love you. Trust me!" He then used the bottom of his palm to nudge the small bird onto the nation's own hand. Making sure to coo to the bird so that he wouldn't fly away, Prussia ended up successful in his endeavor. Smiling brightly, he was enamoured with the surprised expression on Canada's face.

"H-he's on my hand!" Realizing he needed to remaining less than loud, Canada's silent and rather spastic actions only made him more confused as to what he should do. His eyes were wide open, eyebrows high on his forehead while his curl bounced alongside his rather wild movements. Amazingly enough, his hand never moved, letting the bird become comfortable. He began to whisper loudly instead. "He's on my hand! How did you do this!?" He then pointed to the bird who chirped happily.

Prussia was completely satisfied with Canada's overjoyed expression, taking pride with how happy he made him. "Easy! I made sure that he liked you." He had a boyish grin on his face. "I mean, who wouldn't?" Realizing what he said, he quickly covered them up with hasty words. "Y-yeah! I mean, it's not like every single animal won't ever like you, right!?"

Still flustered from the fact he was actually holding an animal that wasn't a pet, Canada continued to grin wildly. Feeling the bird nuzzle in his hand, his smile became brighter. "He's so cute!"

Hearing a few more chirps from various birds nearby, both nations looked around only to find similar looking birds covering the branches of a few trees. The bird in Canada's palm chirped back a few, getting off of his hand and flying towards them instead.

"Bye." He gave a short wave to the bird, a gentle smile taking place.

While Canada was rather calm, Prussia was not. He looked as if he was on the verge of tears. Covering his eyes, he turned away. "I miss them already!"

"What? Wait!" Canada struggled to say something that would cheer him up. "They'll come back probably! They looked like they liked you a lot so they probably will look for you!"

Prussia, now a bit more calm, pouted. "But what if they don't find us?"

"We'll see them one day!" He looked a little guilty. "Maybe."

Prussia turned around to look at the pine trees surrounding them. "Yeah. I guess."

They began to walk again, making odd conversations concerning the various pets belonging to their odd friends and various nations. As they talked about Germany's intense love for dogs, they both found themselves in front of a peaceful lake, still frozen over from winter.

"I wish I brought my skates. I could've tried teaching you again."

"Hey!" Canada nudged his shoulder as Prussia tried to make an excuse for his lousy skating. "I can skate! I just got distracted a ton is all."

Laughing, Canada walked towards the lake. Then he crouched down by the snow. "We should make a snowman."

Wasting no time, Prussia began to roll some snow. "Yeah! Let's do it!"

He continued to roll the first bottom piece of the snowman, making it big enough to reach his pelvis. Canada then made sure to roll the 'torso' of the snowman in proportion to the bottom piece. After making sure it wouldn't fall off when put in place, Prussia made the head as Canada searched for anything that could work as a face and arms. Finding a few sticks and pebbles nearby, he gave them to Prussia, who then tried to get something close to a picturesque snowman.

Both took a few steps back when they finished.

Canada tilted his head. "Something's missing..."

Prussia snapped his fingers at his realization. "Give me your scarf."

Handing the pale scarf to Prussia, who then took off his own beanie, promptly placed them on the snowman. Taking out his phone, he called Canada over. "C'mon! Take a picture with us! This'll look so fucking good on my blog."

"O-oh well, I don't know..." He tugged on the sleeve of his jacket. "I mean I'm not very good with cameras."

Prussia found his camera shyness completely adorable. Tugging on his arm, he lead him towards the snowman. "No way!" He lifted the phone above then, making sure everything would end up on screen. "You'll look great!"

Snapping the phones screen, a few pictures were taken quickly. As both looked at the ones taken, Prussia almost felt like he didn't want them to be posted on his blog. He tried to stay away from his selfish wish as he continued to look at the amazing photo of Canada he now had various copies of on his phone.

On the screen, Canada look like what Prussia could define as completely angelic. His face was slightly red from embarrassment, more than likely from taking a photo, while his expression was still rather happy. He was adorned with a small smile, teeth barely showing while his lips looked completely perfect. His eyes looked big and bright from the angle the photo was taken from. The bright sun was able to make his eyes shine and they dull purple hue look like it sparkled. His hair was slightly ruffled, only slightly maintained from the ear muffs he was still wearing.

Beside him the snowman looked idealistic. Completely how a standard snowman would look.

Then to the furthest left was Prussia himself. He had a wide grin, teeth showing while his smile tilted to a side somewhat boyishly. His face looked incredibly pale compared to the snow he was completely surrounded by, only a slight redness in his cheeks, ears, and nose standing out as a contrasting color. His white hair was ruffled and messy since he had taken off the beanie, not having bothered to fix it after.

Overall, the photo was something that he honestly did not want anyone else to ever see.

He looked over to Canada who looked somewhat pleased with how the picture turned out.

"I... I like it... alot, actually." He smiled as he glanced at Prussia. "Will you send it to me? Or maybe I'll just look at your blog instead." He chuckled. "I think I saw myself there once. It was the only other time I liked the way I looked in a photo. You're pretty good at taking them, you know?"

Now it was Prussia's turn to become completely embarrassed from the compliment. Grabbing his hat off the snowman, he struggled to come up with an answer. "Thanks..." He smiled, trying to hide it as he handed Canada his scarf.

Wrapping the scarf around him, Canada looked up, sun still high up in the sky without any clouds. "We've got a lot of time left. Where do you want to go now?"

"What's near here?"

"Probably some empty cabins, maybe a cave, lots of animals, and I think there's a little nature park."

"How far is that one?"

"Not too far. Like a minute or two."

"Let's go then!"

* * *

"Are we lost?"

"No. We should be getting to the cabin soon."

"The sun is already setting. I'm getting bad vibes from all of this."

"Don't worry, I know where I'm going..." He stared at a tree in front of him, trying to recognize it. "I think..."

Hearing something crack behind them, Prussia tugged onto the back of Canada's jacket, praying he wouldn't get lost or lose track of the nation. "You sure?"

"Definitely. We're... just taking the scenic route."

"But we've passed that tree like five times."

"What!?" He stared at a different tree. "How do you know?"

"Someone marked their initials here. There's like a ton of them marked over. I think they messed up writing it a lot." Prussia pointed to the pine tree closest to him, outlining the various letters scratched in and out of the tree. "And I'm pretty sure that America was here a while ago." He then outlined the nation's name.

Canada walked closer to the tree, realizing the name really was marked on the tree. "Al! I thought I told him to stop doing that!" He murmured to himself. "I'll just go and write my name on his forehead instead."

Prussia snickered. "C'mon, you can beat up your brother later. We gotta find the cabin."

Sighing, Canada began to walk around again. "Yeah. Anyway, do you think there's anything else you recognize?"

"Umm…" He scratched his head, ruffling his silver locks. "I think… ok… so I remember we took a right at the snowman, and then we met a couple of more birds, took a left at a weird rock… and then I saw this tree…" He gave the bark of the tree a few pats as he continued to try to think of a way to find at least the lake.

"But how does a rock look weird?"

"Because it looked like it had a dog face on it!"

"That doesn't make any sense!"

Grabbing Canada's wrist, Prussia began to lead him to wherever he thought the lake was. "It doesn't matter! I know where the lake is!" He began to wildly turn his head left and right, making sure that what he saw looked at least a little familiar.

"How do you even know if this is the right way?"

"Remember I tripped?" He began to run a little. "The snow was deep enough I needed your help! We should be passing the hole I made right…" They passed a deep indentation in the snow, clearly showing a vague outline of a person. "Now!" They continued to run, now a smile on both their faces. "I remember that you hit that branch on accident and you broke it but you left it by the tree." He made a sharp turn to their left, heading towards a loose branch neatly aligned to be parallel to a tree it leaned on. "And before that, I remember that you realized you lost your mitten along the way when we were trying to find the park. It should be near here!"

"But I lost it! That means that it could be anywhere!"

"No way! I feel it in my gut!" And just as he finished his sentence, he picked up a mitten before he continued to run again. He handed it to Canada who stared at him completely surprised. "This means that the weird dog rock is right…" He looked around before pointing to his right. "There! It's right there!"

Both began to run before arriving at the rock and taking a harsh left. Running even faster, the snowman from earlier in the day was on the horizon, becoming closer and closer. In a fit a excitement, Prussia jumped up and then onto the thick layer of snow. Letting relief overcome him, Canada joined him on the snow.

"We did it!"

Standing up, Prussia grabbed hold of Canada's hand to lift him up to his feet. High fiving, they whooped and hollered in joy.

"You know how to get to the cabin from here, right!"

"Yup! It's a straight path! Trust me!"

"Just try not to get us lost again, alright?"

Canada jokingly punched his shoulder. "Shut up."

As they walked away from the frozen lake, snowman still standing, Prussia took a moment to snap a photo of the scene. This was definitely going on his blog.

* * *

**Translations**

_Non, Papa, je pense vraiment. Oui, je sais, et je suis d'être complètement heureux avec la façon dont les choses vont. - _No, Papa, I really mean it. Yes, I know, and I happen to be completely happy with how things are going.

_Oui, oui, je sais, mais rai- _Yes, yes, I know, but rea-

_Que voulez-vous dire que je besoin de conseils!? Je suis capable de faire cela sur mon propre! - _What do you mean that I need advice!? I'm capable of doing this on my own!

_Je sais. Aimez-vous, au revoir. - _I know. Love you, bye.

_Morgen' - _Morning

Alright! Another chapter before a month was able to pass by. Since I'm being swamped right now with so much homework and last minute before-school's-over projects this was practically done only after midnight when I couldn't sleep. That's also why the whole scene in breakfast scene turned out like how it is, since I have a tendency to write stuff like that at 1 in the morning.

The contest is still going on since we have yet to reach the 100 mark for anything, but we are getting close so keep an eye out for that!

If you guys liked this story, make sure to review and tell me what you liked, disliked, or think I should improve on!

**If you have time to become a beta, I could really use one for this story. Please send me a message if you can. Thank you!**


	25. Plane Rides

"Hey, so, how come I only hear stories usually about Germany?" Canada took a sip of the hot chocolate in his mug. "Doesn't that 'family' of yours go farther than just him?" His quotations were heavily exaggerated when he placed his mug on the floor to do them.

Prussia drank from his own mug. "What do you mean?" He wiped away some of the whipped cream he felt on the tip of his nose. "Like Roderich and Vash and stuff?"

"Yeah, like all of them." He let the blanket he had on fall from his shoulders to the wood floor. "I've only talked to them during government meetings so I don't really know what they're like."

"Wierd."

Canada smiled. "There's got to be more than that to them."

"Nobody is ready to know what they're really like. Hell, I'm still unprepared every time they visit." He grabbed Canada's shoulder. "I have to protect you at all costs."

He shrugged the hand off his shoulder, laughing lightly. "I think I'm ready to meet people like them. I can assume that they're a little odd, just like my own family, but that doesn't mean that they aren't good people."

"Right..." His sentence dragged on before Prussia took a sip of his drink. Feeling his cell phone vibrate in his jean pocket, he took it out and realized Germany was calling him. Lightly tapping the screen, he answered the phone.

"_Hallo_?"

"Gilbert?"

"Hey, Luddy. Me and Mattie were talking about you and everyone else right now."

"Yes, well, surprisingly enough, we were talking about you two as well."

"'We'?"

"Ah, yes. 'We' as in Elizaveta and myself. She heard your new friendship with... erm... Canada... and she knocked on my door demanding to meet him."

"What? Why?"

"She stated that once word got out through all the germanic nations, no one believed you actually, well, made a friend."

"God damn it. Is she 'demanding' I come over asap?"

"Yes. She wanted to make some type of special reunion; invite everyone to meet him and let him meet them."

"Luddy, I want to keep a friend, not lose one."

"While I would agree that our close 'family' can be rather eccentric, they also want to know more about him since he was the one who gave you back a nation."

Prussia's eyes widened at the statement. He forgot he never clarified to anyone his stance as a micro-nation. "U-um... yeah. I'll just ask him or something and we'll plan this out."

"Alright. _Auf wiedersehen_."

"See ya."

Hanging up, Prussia stared at Canada, who stared back as he sipped from his mug. Prussia concentrated on the design: a simply deep red color, clean white polka dots surrounding it. It was chipped at the bottom, the paint only slightly odd. Looking at the mug a little longer as Canada remained in silence while resting his eyes, smile on his face as he basked in the warmth of the fireplace, Prussia wondered what could happen if Canada did visit.

Honestly, he didn't want to imagine.

Breaking the silence, Canada was the first to speak. "So, what did he call for?"

"How everyone wants to know how I ended up meeting this miracle guy who's keeping me out of bars and street fights." He snickered. "They wanna meet you."

Canada flustered at the mention that someone, let alone many people, would be interested in him. "O-oh. Well, I mean, we can something if they want to... I guess." He averted his gaze from Prussia with a flustered expression, deciding that counting the marshmallows in his hot chocolate was much more interesting. "What did they have in mind?"

"Well, knowing Liz…" He stared at the fireplace. "Probably either something as normal as a dinner or she might just be as straight forward as to get up in your personal space and ask as many fucking questions about us as possible."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"That's because you don't know her. She sweet and shit, but she's intense."

"What about everyone else?"

"Uhmm… You already met Ludwig, Feliciano'll probably be there too, Roddy is pretty ok if you pay attention to what he says, Vash usually stays kinda quiet and is pretty rash when he does anything, Liz is invasive sometimes but usually knows her limits, and then Lili is probably the biggest sweetheart in the world." He chuckled. "I have no idea how she turned out that way when she's surrounded by us."

Canada chuckled. "Despite the lovely descriptions, I'm actually looking pretty forward to all of this."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It'll be nice meeting all of you and getting to know the people that you call your family."

"Does this mean I should call them and make it a date?"

"Yeah. Ask them when they want me to visit, I'll just plan it from there."

After Prussia called and after some assertive words from Hungary, a lot of negotiations from the two of them, and a few words squeezed in from Austria himself, they finally set on a suitable date and place: Germany's house, the day after what was meant to be only Prussia's return to the nation.

Now all that was left was explaining to Canada the fact that, in the most literal sense, the rest of the world thought he was a genuine nation and not simply a micro-nation.

This was going to be more difficult than he could've imagined.

Taking a few heavy breath, in his nose and out his mouth, Prussia turned to Canada. "Hey... umm, Mattie?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember how at that one meeting oh so long ago and Ludwig told everyone there that I was a nation again?" Canada nodded. "Yeah, and how when I talked to you about it, you were telling me I'm only a micro-nation?" Another nod, albeit slower. "Ok, so, not everyone got the memo."

"What?"

"Not everyone is all that knowledgeable that I'm still not a full fledged nation." He turned his head, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "It may not have crossed my mind when I was talking to them."

"So none of them know?"

"Maybe Feli... he's been weirdly perceptive."

"You realize they'll have to find out eventually, right?"

"Well, I mean, do they really?" Prussia chuckled nervously, knowing the answer.

"Yes, and you know it."

"But do they really?"

"Gil." Canada tried to look a little stern.

"Alright, alright." He sipped at his mug. "How would I tell them, though? Just a 'Hey how's it been? This is Mattie, oh, and I'm not actually a nation! I've been lying to you for over half a year, whoops!'"

Canada nudged his shoulder. "C'mon, Gil. You know what I mean. I'll be with you over there, and I hate to say it, but I will make sure they know about it before I'd have to leave."

"But-!"

"No buts! You know it's wrong to keep lying to them about it! It's like a bandaid, just do it all at once!"

"But that doesn't mean it won't hurt when you do it."

Canada scooted closer to Prussia. "And what exactly would it take to convince you of actually doing all of this?"

"Some of those crepes you made. They were really good."

"Better than my pancakes?" His voice was teasing as Prussia flustered, thinking he offended the Canadian. "I'm joking. I'm joking."

"Ok. If I tell everyone about this dumb nation shit then you make those crepe things the next time I visit."

"Will that time be soon?"

"Probably the day after you leave Germany."

"I'll look forward to it."

* * *

"Double check that we have everything for me?"

"Chargers, check. Clothes, check. Electronics, check. Other stuff... check?"

"C'mon, Gil. I don't want to leave anything behind. Try, at least."

"I am! There's just a lot of stuff to check." He crouched down to check inside their bags, making sure to mentally keep track of everything he saw. "Yeah. I think we have everything."

"Help me put it in the trunk?"

"Already ahead of you."

It only took a few trips between the two of them to get their bags in the car and, after locking up the cabin, heading back towards Canada's home.

Although there were still plenty of small stops they made along the way, mostly for snacks on Prussia's side.

When they got to the second rest stop, Canada filled his car up with gasoline as Prussia wandered through the convenience store to find anything appetizing. As he gathered various chips and candies, halfway through he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he found Canada who was giggling at all of the food he had picked out.

"The cars done." He glanced at the bags. "Don't you think that's not enough?"

"Ha ha." Prussia deadpanned. "A guy can get hungry. But don't come crying to me when you realize that buying a single can of tea isn't enough for the rest of the trip."

They headed towards the cashier, Prussia insisting on using his own money. "I won't be because you'll be nice enough to share."

Prussia glanced at him as they left the convenience store. "And how do you know I won't say 'no'?"

Canada began to flutter his eyes in exaggeration. "Who can say 'no' to me?"

Both laughed on their way to car. As Canada buckled his seatbelt, Prussia handed him a small package: a small Jos Louis packet. "Figured you'd want one." He retreated to his own abundance of snacks as Canada savored his own chocolate dipped snack cake, a smile on the blond's face.

* * *

"Okay, so say there was a zombie apocalypse... umm... right now! What would you do?"

"Find shelter as soon as possible."

"Okay, but how would you do that."

"I don't know... but I know my country pretty well. I mean, if something happened this very moment I know that a little over that way," Canada tilted his head as he drove towards a vague direction, "Is a pretty safe little town. So it's safe to guess that the zombie apocolypse would probably start somewhere really urban like in America or Europe or something." He glanced at the various empty chip bags near Prussia. "Although, I don't think we'd have food for very long."

"You're very funny. Ok, so then what if you needed to fight them off, how would you do it?" Prussia leaned his head back against the car seat, snickering. "Would you just wave around your hockey stick?"

"Looks like my jokes are rubbing off on you." He pondered the question for a moment. "Well, I'm pretty good at fighting and stuff, and since I'm a nation I don't think I'd have to worry about things like breaking an arm or something that easily."

"True. Okay, then what if you were somewhere urban like you said, and it's harder to find a safe place that lasts?"

"What's with the zombie questions?"

"No reason. Now answer! You're brother's close to dying, you're tired of running, food is running low, and you're low on stamina!"

"Ok! Ok! U-um…"

"Quick, Mattie, there's more and more zombies no matter where you look!"

"What! W-wait, I don't think it wou-"

"Bam. A zombie bit you while you questioned their existence. You should've just imagined that a safe building or something was nearby. Like a little refugee group or something."

"But what are the chances of me finding something like that?"

"Good enough if you're on your own."

* * *

"I spy with my little eye... something... black and white."

"That cow over there."

"Yeah, actually."

"But why's there only one cow all alone over there?"

Canada shrugged. "'Dunno. It's your turn."

"Alright. I spy with my little eye... something red and white."

"My flag?"

"Nope."

"How about... my hoodie?"

"Nah. You getting warmer, though. It's in this car."

"The water bottle."

"No."

"The bag of chips."

"No.

"Then..." Canada glanced at the car for a few moments before noticing Prussia who was messing with his hair in the car mirror. "How about an albino Prussian."

"Very nice. For that you win a snack if you want."

"Pass me a Louis cake again, please."

* * *

Getting back into their car after a quick rest stop, Prussia glanced at Canada as they buckled their seatbelts.

"How long have we been driving now?"

"Like a few hours. We're halfway there, anyways."

"You sure you're not tired?"

"Nah, I mea-" Canada was cut off with a yawn. He looked sheepish as he continued. "I'll be fine."

"How 'bout I drive and you just take a nap instead?"

"Do you know the route?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

Canada thought about the possibility of taking a nap instead of driving, and it seemed to be a pretty pleasant choice at the moment.

"Alright. If you need directions just wake me up."

"Sure, but I'll be fine."

Getting out of the car to switch spots, Canada lowered the back of his seat to sleep for a while as Prussia drove towards his house. Soon enough he was able to fully fall asleep, the car lulling him to sleep.

Prussia during this time found himself testing his knowledge of the road to see how far he could get to their destination without waking up Canada. Thankfully, they were able to get there safely and only a half hour late.

Unbuckling himself, Prussia glanced over to Canada and stopped himself completely. The Canadian looked so completely at peace and serene that Prussia almost didn't want to wake him up.

He leaned over and lightly shook the blond's shoulders. "Mattie. C'mon, Birdie. We're already home." Well, really it was his home, but...

His eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to brush away the hand, still half asleep. "It's not... time yet..."

Prussia chuckled. "C'mon, Birdie. We still have to get ready for the airport tomorrow."

Canada opened his eyes slowly, trying to accustom himself to the bright light. The sun hadn't set yet but it would soon. "But... I'm so comfy."

"Don't you wanna see your bear again?" He paused, eyes widening. "And I need to check on Gilbird!"

Canada smiled. He rummaged in his pocket before handing Prussia the house keys. "I'll join you in a moment." He slowly sat up, his arms stretching while he watched the albino run towards the house in a near panic.

Opening the door in a rush after struggling when he dropped the keys on accident, Prussia ran into the living room only to find his bird happily sleeping atop of the polar bear's head. He released a breath he hadn't realized he held once he realized his bird was safe. Walking back to the front door he almost crashed into Canada.

Walking through the door with two large and heavy bags on both his shoulders, Canada squeezed his way past Prussia. "No, don't mind me. I can carry everything." He deadpanned, snickering at the embarrassed look on the albino's face.

Rushing to the car, he picked up what was left, he locked the vehicle up and headed back inside. Leaving the bags by the stairs, he walked towards the living room and flopped onto the couch.

Soon enough, Canada joined him in silence and sat atop the armrest near Prussia's head. Both sighed in unison as they rested for a few moments. Laying a portion of his back against the cushion, he maintained his balance as he closed his eyes.

A few more seconds passed before Prussia broke the silence. Looking up at Canada, he spoke. "You ready for your trip tomorrow?"

Opening his eyes slowly, his words were only slightly languid. "Mmm... yeah. It'll be fun, I think. I'll get to meet a lot of people and talk to your brother and Italy again."

Prussia snickered. "If you even survive the first day."

"If we even get ready in time for the plane ride." Canada leaned down and nudged Prussia's shoulder. "C'mon, we gotta get ready. It's already getting really late."

Both headed upstairs, bringing along with them what needed to be put away in the attic or in their own closets and luggages. Sweaters and hoodies came in abundance as Canada packed away for the trip that, honestly, he was somewhat worried of. The idea that none of them would like his company made his fear increase and his want to visit decrease. Eventually, Prussia took notice when he helped him put away the telescope left downstairs.

Noticing the slightly trembling hands, Prussia called for Canada attention. "Hey, are you okay?"

"What? O-oh, I'm fine."

"You sure? Not still thinking of the trip tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"'Cause, you know they'll love you, right?" Canada stared at him with wide eyes. "Of course they'll love you. You're like everything super nice and polite and shit. Even better, you can hold your alcohol."

Canada smiled sheepishly. "Thanks… but you didn't have to say all of that."

"Mmm, I know, but I wanted to."

* * *

Both walked into the airport, luggage ready in their hands while in another Prussia had Gilbird in the usual bird cage and Canada had Kumajiro in a pet carrier. Walking through security, explaining why they had a miniature polar bear as part of their luggage, going through carry on check, finding their way through the various gates of the airport, and then finally finding their designated gate with only five minutes to spare, they entered the airplane with a relief of breath and smiles in celebration.

As the plane took off and headed towards Berlin, Germany the two nations relaxed in expectancy of a good trip and pleasant days ahead of them. While Canada stared out of the small window, resting his head to the side of the seat, listening to Prussia's gentle and nearly quiet snores as he slept away the plane ride, he continued to wonder if he really was as good company and as interesting as Prussia continued to relentlessly assure him he was.

* * *

Elizaveta - Hungary

Hey, so while this isn't a chapter I'm particularly fond of in any way, and even more so because of the slump I went through as I wrote it, I am happy to say that I'm able to make a few more characters become involved in this story! My promise of a family reunion a few chapters ago will be fufilled and I am excited to have you guys read it. While I'm mostly certain about what they'll do for these few chapters ahead, if you guys have suggestions or anything that you would possibly like to see, I'll try to see if I can fit it in there!

If you guys liked this story, make sure to review and tell me what you liked, disliked, or think I should improve on!

**If you have time to become a beta, I could really use one for this story. Please send me a message if you can. Thank you!**


	26. Meet the Family

With a snore cut halfway Prussia awoke with a shock as he felt the plane begin to land. Wiping the corner of his mouth to make sure no drool had leaked throughout the ride, he looked to his right and found Canada sleeping peacefully as he rested against Prussia's shoulder. Savoring the moment for a few seconds more, he gently shook the Northern nation awake. He opened his eyes slowly, rubbing them a bit to wake him up, and when he glanced at the window he realized exactly where he was. Sitting up a little straighter and as close to the edge of the seat as he could've possibly managed, he began to twiddle his fingers, a nervous aura easy to spot on him.

Prussia grabbed his shoulder lightly, give a few squeezes in reassurance. "You'll be fine."

Canada didn't respond as he nodded in agreement as he continued to stare out the window. His face relaxed a little, but he continued to nibble on his bottom lip as some type of way to possibly calm him down or stop him from getting any more nervous.

Soon enough the plane landed completely, came to a full rest, and let both Prussia and Canada leave to go to the luggage retrieval. As they walked through the bland and complex halls of the airport to find their way to their bags and cases of clothing, the two made idle chit chat as they talked about whatever came to mind at the moment. Walking around and waiting only for a few minutes to wait for their luggage to arrive on the conveyor belt.

Luggage and pets in their hands, they sat on a nearby bench while Prussia called his brother. The German fussed over the phone that he was incredibly sorry for being late and that it should not have been accepted, even if it was only a few minutes.

Germany had later found the two of them through texts and many questions. Grateful that their section was not as full of people as expected, the pair spotted Germany easily as well.

The German was the first to speak, stiffly shaking Canada's hand in an attempt to appear at least a little friendly. He was flustered due to his lack of experience with talking to others 'normally' but with the expression on Canada's face it was easily to see he was more than grateful that he was trying his best.

"_H-hallo_ Canada. It is very nice to meet you again."

Canada smiled brightly, looking up at Germany as his worries started to trickle away. "It's nice to see you again, too." He glanced around. "Where's everyone else?"

Prussia looked around as well. "Oh, yeah. Where's the welcoming committee?"

"They are back at home while Feliciano keeps them at bay." He looked at Canada. "They are very excited to meet you."

Canada blushed, his smile sheepish. "I'm excited to meet them too."

All three smiled at they walked out of the airport and towards the car. Putting their luggage into the trunk, Canada took Kumajiro out of his kennel. Getting into the back seat as Prussia sat shot gun, Germany started up the car.

The polar bear in Canada's arms woke from his slumber, rubbing his eyes as best he could with his paws. "Are we there yet?"

Germany immediately stopped the car, the tires screeching at the sudden halt. Turning around he stared at the bear. "Did your polar bear speak?"

Kumajiro stared at the man who he didn't recognize. "Who are you?"

Canada chuckled as Germany's jaw dropped. "I usually hear him ask me that. This is a first."

Prussia snickered at his brother's shocked expression. "Didn't I tell you about his polar bear?"

"Yes, I suppose so," He ran a hand through his gelled hair, making it loosen up a bit. "But you had never mentioned of a _talking_ polar bear." He continued to stare at the bear until he realized that he looked a little ridiculous. He returned to the wheel in front of him to drive out of the airport parking lot. Turning his head, he glanced at his brother. "I do not believe the others at home will be prepared for that."

"C'mon, West. It'll be more fun this way."

Germany sighed. "Nonetheless," He looked at Canada through the rear view mirror. "I hope you enjoy your time here with all of us." He eyes returned to the road. "Everyone has wanted to know about you for a very long time. The moment Elizaveta knew that you would come here she spent a large amount of time making preparations and things like that. Even Lili and Roderich helped out."

A light red dusted Canada's cheeks as he continued to listen to what Germany told him.

The ride continued like this; Germany making encouraging comments on how everyone was absolutely in love with the idea of being able to see Canada and meet him, Prussia making little remarks with his usual mannerisms, and even Kumajiro mumbling the occasional phrase. Both of the brothers made conversation interesting enough to last the ride to their house. From the country itself to things as trivial as asking if Canada enjoyed baked desserts, soon enough, the blond felt like he had worried for nothing.

As Germany parked his car in the house's driving lot, Kumajiro became anxious to leave the car. Opening the door, the bear jumped out as he stared at Canada expectantly so that they could enter the house as soon as possible. Going to the trunk, Prussia accompanying him as Germany unlocked the door while Kumajiro ran alongside him, the pair took their luggage out of the car. Taking a moment to let Gilbird out of his cage to stretch out his wings and then land on his usual spot in Prussia's hair, they headed inside.

As Canada took each step needed to get closer to the door, his grew more and more nervous as his heart began to race. The anxieties he felt on the plane were returning and each step closer to the door felt heavier and heavier, feeling like they were impossible. Eventually, he stopped halfway, staring at the open door that was intended to be welcoming. Of course, Prussia was quick to notice as well.

He grabbed the nation's shoulder once again, similar to how he did it on the plane. "You're fine." He wasn't too good with words, but he did what he could to lighten the atmosphere. "It'll all turn out awesome anyway." He smiled brightly and was please when Canada did the same.

Click_._

The sound of something similar to a camera brought their attention to the front door, Hungary standing at the entrance with a bright smile on her face. Speed walking towards the two nations, she quickly enveloped Canada in a tight hug. After a few seconds and after almost lifting him off the ground, she released him and spoke to him excitedly. "Oh, it's so great to finally meet you! It's been hard to get anyone to talk to me about you since I'm not all that close to your 'family', but I hope I'll get to know you better these next couple of days!" She hugged him once more, squeezing tightly.

At his release, he quickly inhaled to get retrieve some lost oxygen. "I-it's very nice to meet you Miss Hungar-"

"Please, sweetie, call me Eliza. Elizaveta if you would like."

"A-ah, yes. Alright, Miss Elizaveta. It's very nice to meet you, and I will love to get to know you as well." Canada smiled, his cheeks slightly red while he tugged at one of the sleeved of his sweater.

From Prussia's point of view it wasn't difficult for him to know that Hungary was only barely succeeding at hiding how excited she truly was. For one reason or another. Taking a few steps, he pat her shoulder. "Shouldn't we go inside now?"

"What? Oh! Yes, let me help out with your luggage...?"

"You can call me Matthew."

Hungary smiled sweetly. "Alright, Matthew." She grabbed one of his bags as she lead them inside the house. Leaving their luggage by the staircase, she turned around to face the two of them. "You can just leave your bags here. We'll put them away after I introduce you to everyone." Prussia cleared his throat. "Well, after _we _introduce you to everyone. They should be over in the living room by the kitchen."

Faithful to her word, walking there quickly they were able to find four nations waiting patiently in the living room: Switzerland and Austria conversing with each other as Germany and Liechtenstein were distracted with Kumajiro. Although, the moment Canada entered the room, they immediately acknowledged him. Austria was the first to do so, standing up from the couch and walking towards him.

"Hello. It is a pleasure to meet you." The faintest trace of a smile was visible on him as he extended out his hand, waiting for a reply.

Surprised by the aristocratic air that surrounded the nation, Canada faltered for only a second. "I-It's very nice to meet you as well."

Releasing Canada's hand from his gentle grip, Austria continued to talk. "You may call me Roderich if you would prefer. If not, Austria is suitable."

Canada smiled, his worries once again leaving his thoughts. "Thank you, Roderich. You can also call me Matthew, too"

As soon as they stopped conversing, Switzerland cleared his throat. Looking up at Canada, it was obvious that he was trying his damn best to appear as friendly as he could've possibly manage. Sticking out his hand, he shook Canada's own as he spoke quickly and a little rehearsed. "Hello. The name is Switzerland and you can call me Vash."

"It's nice to meet you Vash. You can also call me Matthew if you'd like to."

Nodding in response he headed back to couch as his spot was replaced with Liechtenstein's petite figure. She smiled large and wide at Canada, completely cheerful and full of pleasant vibes. She was what made Canada finally relax as he grew comfortable with her. Her voice was soft as she spoke. "Hello, Canada. I'm Liechtenstein, but can you call me Lili?"

He smiled, nodding in agreement. "Sure. As long as you call me Matthew."

She laughed, nodding as well. "Okay."

Canada looked around the living room, somewhat confused. "I feel like someone is missing. Or mayb-"

"Mattie!"

Before he realized it, Italy had run from the kitchen to the living room and pulled him into a tight and warm hug. He laughed as he hugged the excitable nation in return, any awkward or tense atmosphere now officially gone in the living room. "It's nice to see you again, Feliciano."

Grabbing his arm, he dragged Canada towards one of the couches. "It feels like it's been forever since I saw you!"

Both chuckled as Canada continued the conversation. At the same time, Prussia looked at him while not realizing the goofy grin he had on his face. Before he could join the others, a hand on his shoulder dragged him into the hall.

Hungary stared at him with expectant eyes. "Alright, so how'd you get someone like that?"

Prussia sputtered out a response. "W-what!?"

Hungary continued to smiled brightly. "C'mon! You know what I mean!"

"No, I don't think I do."

"Y'unno. Your boy-toy! He's so cute and sweet and polite and... a little frail looking to be honest... and then you're loud and impolite and rude and," She glanced up and down at Prussia, eyebrows furrowing together as she frowned. "You."

Prussia sneered. "Thanks, and I hate to break it to you Liz but we aren't together."

"You keep saying that, but that won't change the fact that he had to share a room with you as long as we're visiting! Ooh, I cant wait to see if I find anything good!" She continued to talk absentmindedly about various schemes she could use on the pair to catch them in the act of anything that could be even close to romantic.

"Liz!" Gilbert's pale skin failed to hide his newly embarrassed and blushing expression. "You know we're not together."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Mhmm, yeah... sure..." She peered into the living room for a moment, looking at all six nations happily conversing. "Well, whatever. I know when you're lying and even more so now because you only being friends doesn't add up to me." She stretched out her arms. "Looks like I got some investigation work ahead of me." She winked at Prussia before leaving him alone in the hall.

Sighing heavily, he thread a hand through his hair before joining the nations. Walking around the pair of sofas, he plopped down on the empty spot next to Canada, content on listening to whatever conversation they had going on. As the conversation shifted from topic to topic, eventually Austria was able to put in his own two cents and was able to talk about classic instruments. This, of course, led to him talking about the piano in the house and how he would like to play something for Canada. Too polite to decline, said nation walked with Austria towards the desired piano. A few steps behind, everyone else decided to join them as well.

"You must have never heard me play before, have you?"

Canada shook his head as they entered the room. "No, I can't say I have. Although, Gil did play for me once."

Austria immediately turned around, eyes wide with surprise. "What?"

From behind both Hungary and Liechtenstein ran up to him as they spoke simultaneously, their words meshing together.

"Gil played the piano for you!?" Hungary's eyes sparkled as she spoke, excitement seeping through her voice.

"No way! He hasn't played the piano in such a long time!"

"I can't believe it! How did you do it!?"

"There's no way he just offered it, right!?" Liechtenstein turned around to face Prussia and Hungary did as well.

They both then ran up to Prussia, who looked extremely embarrassed and appeared as if he wanted to disappear. He looked straight ahead, but his eyes would glance at the floor as if the marble tiles would eventually swallow him up and prevent him from facing any form of confrontation. Although, much to his obvious disappointment, it hadn't happened in enough time for him to get away from the two excitable nations who stared at him as they waited for an explanation. He breathed in, and then sighed as he tried to act nonchalant.

"Yeah. He visited a while ago so I played him a song."

The two spoke in unison. "And!?"

"'And' what?" He looked away, unwilling to maintain eye contact with any of the people in the room.

Liechtenstein tried to remain calm but failed. "Why did you do it!?"

Hungary nodded her head in agreement. "You haven't played the piano since after World War II!" She motioned quickly to Canada, who still seemed confused by what he was witnessing. "Then _he _comes around and gets you to play it that easily!?"

As the remaining nations watched the little episode between the trio, Austria eventually grew impatient as well as tired of not continuously being the one to be the center of their attention. He cleared his throat as he continued to be unsuccessful at garnering their attention as well.

"We can also talk about this later." He walked towards the piano. "Yes, Eliza, you and Lili can simply confront Gilbert however you may wish at a later time. After all," He glanced at Canada, "Matthew was the one who showed interest in hearing me play." He opened the piano's key cover, eyeing everyone as he did so in a silent request to make them sit down.

Taking the not so subtle hints from Austria, all nations sat down wherever they were able to in no certain order, although Canada and Prussia did sit together due to Hungary's persistence. The group listened to Austria delicate and melodic taps of the ivory piano keys, many of them closing their eyes as they drowned out any other disturbances possible. By the end of it, Austria stood, gave a short bow, and, after thanking Canada for listening, walked with Switzerland and Germany out to the living room. In the meantime Italy had caught up with Hungary and Liechtenstein while Prussia and Canada began to strike up a conversation.

"So what'd you think of Roddy?"

"I liked it. He sounded nice." Canada walked towards the door and Prussia followed along.

"Better than me?" Prussia feigned a hurt expression.

Canada chuckled. "Now don't think I won't be asking you why everyone was so surprised that you played the piano for me. Actually..." Canada turned his head and glanced and the three other nations who seemed to changing topics easily and quickly. "I think I might ask them right now." He started to walk quickly towards the group.

"What! Wai-"

Before Prussia could catch up to Canada, the young nation return to him. Getting on the tips of his feet, he leaned into Prussia's ear as he whispered. "I still think you're better at the piano."

Click.

In a moment Canada left him alone once more as he watched the blond join the others. He easily saw Hungary fiddling with a camera as she conversed with all of them. Prussia would really need to see where she always hid the bulkier ones. But, for the moment talking to all of them and having a nice time together seemed liked something more important for the moment. After all, it wasn't like she was going to be leaving for a while.

Walking to the growing group of nations, he invested himself in listening to the various questions they asked Canada: all somewhat polite and not too intrusive, but that could all change later during his visit. Canada had answered rather politely in return, picking his words carefully due to not wanting to offend the others as they piled on more and more questions while they continued their walk towards the kitchen.

Entering the kitchen Prussia was able to see how things were beginning to be prepared so that dinner could be cooked. Switzerland was off cutting and chopping various vegetables while Austria bothered him relentlessly while criticizing how he was chopping unevenly. Germany was off in his own world as he prepared a few bowls and ingredients for a type of pastries he was busy making, only to be quickly joined by Liechtenstein who seemed to immediately know what to do. Italy in the meantime had gone off in various directions with his own rhythm and beat as he navigated his way throughout the kitchen with such ease it appeared as if he had the whole place memorized. The remaining three nations stood by the kitchen entrance as they stared at the surprisingly orderly group of nations cooking a dinner they wanted to turn out nice for their guest.

Hungary faced Canada. "Well, sweetie, I guess we should probably leave them be for the moment, huh?"

Nodding along and murmuring in agreement, the two went off towards the living room, Prussia staying only a step or two behind them.

"Hey, Liz, how come you never call me 'sweetie' and shit?"

She turned her head only for a moment to glance at Prussia. "When you're as nice and cute as him then I'll start."

Prussia could've sworn he heard Canada failing to hold back a laugh.

* * *

"No, Matthew, you're supposed to do it like this! See!" Liechtenstein, after joining the three in the living room once she finished help with the baking, decided to teach Canada a thing or two about taking a selfie.

He, of course, was having some issues with it. He was caught in between Hungary and Liechtenstein as they tried their best to teach him how to properly do a peace sign in a picture with them. He struggled mostly to stay within the frame, often getting out of it. Although, there was also the issue of him being sandwiched into the screen to make sure all three of them fit in.

"C'mon, Matt. If Kiku can do this then so can you. Plus my arm is getting tired." Despite her complaining, Hungary appeared determined to make sure the blond could pull off a pose that maintained her liking.

"I know, I know. Although remember it's a little hard to move so easily in between the two of you." He did his best to move his hand properly, even tilting his head and peace sign slightly to match the two of them the way Hungary taught him.

As the trio struggled in their desperate attempts to take a good photo, Prussia was busy taking various photos of their failed and hilarious attempts as he snickered and chuckled to himself. After a while though, he decided taking pictures was a bit too bland and instead even took the time to invest himself in their photos as well. Once he found a place behind the sofa, he squeezed himself into the camera screen.

"Yeah, Birdie, all you gotta do is just kinda turn your head a little and look right into the camera. Try making a peace sign with both your hands."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Nevertheless, he still held up both his hands near his cheeks. "Mr. Canada can't do a selfie and it's a disappointment to everyone." He glared the screen for only a moment before he returned to trying to successfully take a selfie.

"Yeah, and I don't get why it's so hard for you this time. You've taken selfies with me before."

Hungary stared excitedly at two, and not without a knowing glance from Liechtenstein as Canada explained.

"Well, how about I say I'm better at things that aren't that well planned."

"So, spontaneous things, Matthew?" Liechtenstein looked at him with somewhat wide eyes.

"Yeah. You could put it that way."

Click.

Hungary brushed away the bangs that fell to her eyes, sighing heavily but with a smile. "Thanks to Lili's question I was able to 'spontaneously' take a pretty good photo. Even if I do say so myself."

She held the touchscreen high enough for everyone to see. All four of them were smiling happily: Hungary having her familiar no teeth smile while Prussia was in between her and Canada with his lopsided and toothy grin. Next to him, and very close to him, was Canada who was smiling shyly while explaining his interests to Liechtenstein, two peace signs near his face while his cheeks were slightly red. Then right beside him was Liechtenstein, where even though she faced Canada, her focus was on the camera with a hand fast enough to make a peace sign happen.

"Ooh! We look so good!" Liechtenstein took hold of the phone after Hungary passed it to her. "I'll just send this to my phone..."

"Send it to me, too." Prussia smiled as he started typing in his number in the message list.

"Gil! Don't put it on your blog! You already have that one photo of us by the lake." At this, Liechtenstein and Hungary both took interest in their conversation, looking at each other on the occasion.

"Yeah, but you looked so good! Everyone who saw it put nice comments about you."

Liechtenstein snapped her fingers in realization. "Oh! I know that photo! I saw it a while ago!" She then pulled her phone out of her skirt pocket to show it to Hungary who seemed to still be unaware of the actual picture itself.

As the two of them scrolled through Prussia's blog, said nation and Canada were off having their own conversation of how he should take more photos and let Prussia post them on his blog. While Hungary and Liechtenstein rooted alongside him to try to convince Canada of doing so, he himself was still somewhat flustered at how determined the three of them were. He ended up promising many photos that would be down at later times and left them somewhat satisfied at the promise they knew he would need to live up to eventually. Before any of them could ask for that promise to be fulfilled at that moment, Austria entered the room to let them know that dinner was officially ready. Heading off to the dining room, they took their seats wherever they could as Italy and Germany finished setting the table.

Once the food was served and everyone had settled, the conversations began to flow easily out of them. The dining room was full of words, voices exaggerating every expression and phrase as they drew attention to themselves and even to others on the occasion. Of course, with a new ease letting people speak their mind most began to use the opportunity to ask Canada any questions they had about him.

Germany had been the first one to do so, albeit a little distracted by Kumajiro pawing the end of his pant leg. "How has everything been with my brother so far? Has he behaved himself?" His expression would've suggested he was serious, but his tone of voice showed he was only joking.

Of course, Canada played along. "Oh, of course. I mean, after a few bar fights and getting lost in the woods he eventually calmed down."

Hungary interrupted before Germany got a chance to reply. "It wouldn't surprise me if any of that did happen. Gil's done crazier things with Spain and France."

"Didn't he once use birds to play a prank on Denmark?" Austria added.

"I still don't get how you can just make them do whatever you want." Switzerland mumbled to himself as he ate.

Canada chuckled. "Like Snow White, right?"

The table broke out in laughter.

Hungary barely contained herself. "Oh my god! You're completely right!" She gripped at her fork as she laughed, her other hand covering mouth in the meantime.

At her side Italy was snickering and looked desperate to not laugh too hard and appear rude. He had his head turned away from the table, hand covering his mouth as well to hide the goofy grin in his face.

Right beside him was Germany who had snorted at the joke, his laughter broken and hearty. He stared down at his plate, arms resting at his sides as he tried to calm down. Although, from the red hue on his cheeks, he was far from ending his laughter.

Even Austria had found the joke funny. His laughter was light and arid, but sincere nonetheless. He rested his chin on the palm of one his hands, still trying to maintain his cool as he continue to laugh, all the while he glanced at the others to see them just as joyed as him.

Switzerland in the meantime chuckled, his laughter deep. The joke had been funny to him, but he still was doing his best to maintain a straight face. He looked at Liechtenstein who, unlike him, was laughing just as loudly as everyone else.

"Does this mean that you dressed up for Halloween?" She asked.

Everyone laughed even more.

In the meantime Prussia was slightly embarrassed. He was easily growing more and more flustered, and his pale skin tone wasn't any help when it came to hiding the red hues of his blushing cheeks. Staring down at his plate for a few moments, he raised his head as he struggled to show a smile. The simple upturned line was barely seen, but it was only out of embarrassment if he was honest with himself. So, instead of trying to force any kind of grin, he decided that the best decision for the moment was to instead stuff his face with whatever food was nearby. As he continuously stuffed food into his mouth, he listened along to what they said, relief washing over him as the group once again changed the topic.

Hungary spoke up. "So, what is it that you guys usually do? Gil's been visiting more and more often." She teased. "Not to mention a little bird told me that you even visited him over here, too." Her smile became sly, her gaze alternating between the pair.

Chuckling, Canada replied. "I didn't think you would know about my visit here. We mostly just do things at our interest, I wouldn't say there's that much planning."

Swallowing his food harshly, Prussia continued. "He's right. Anything so far has been a last minutes type of thing. Except for that one camping trip, of course."

"Well… considering we got lost for a few hours… it wasn't that well planned." He rubbed at the back of his head sheepishly.

Liechtenstein grew attentive at their little misfortune. "You were lost in the woods?"

Switzerland attention was gained as well. "That's no good. Matthew, I'm always one to go for hikes in my mountains. I'm willing to give advice if it's needed." He returned to his food, waiting for a reply.

Canada became flustered at the willingness to help. "A-Ah, no, it's fine! You really don't have to! It was more on our part since we got distracted."

Prussia snorted. "Pfft. More like _you_ got distracted. After all, it was because of how awesome I am that I was able to find us the way to our cabin."

"Only because of your weird memory." Canada retorted, taking a bite of his food.

"Don't you claim to have photographic memory?" Austria commented.

"What about it, Specs?" He took a sip of water and smirked. "Did you think I was lying?" He teased.

"On the occasion. You know you're word isn't always the most reliable in the world."

Italy spoke up. "That would explain why you always remember all the recipes in my recipe books so easily even though you barely look at them..."

Finished with her plate, Hungary continued the conversation. "Well, aside from learning about Gil's memory, what else do the two of you do together?" Her voice drawled out the last word only for a second longer than necessary.

Prussia picked up on it, but Canada seemingly hadn't. "Well, we just tend to hang out. Watch movies, go out to eat something, things like that." Thinking for only a second longer, his face light up as he began to think he understood what she meant. "Anything beyond that would be when he took me to the Rhine river. It was a nice trip and the castles looked amazing."

Prussia flushed as he tried to explain himself. "Y-yeah, but it wasn't exactly anything special."

"I guess, but I thought it was."

Before anyone else could add on to what he said, Italy came out of the kitchen with Germany trailing behind him, both having left the kitchen sometime during the conversation. He appeared excited as he set down plates in front of everyone. "We brought dessert that Luddy and Lili made!"

Blushing, Germany sat down as he explained what exactly it was that he made. "It's only baumkuchen, Feliciano."

Liechtenstein spoke up. "But I barely did anything. You were the one who did the most work." She took a bite of the cake, smiling as she urged for Germany to accept the compliments and praise.

Italy continued. "I've seen you make this before, Luddy. It always looks so hard to me." He took a bite as well. Then a few more.

"I-It is nothing compared to other pastries." He began to eat as well, grateful that everyone did, too.

* * *

Getting late into the night, Liechtenstein (taking Kumajiro with her) was the first of the group to bid everyone a goodnight, and after a talk with Switzerland, she was the only one to head to bed. Everyone else wished her a goodnight and headed into the living room, slightly tipsy from any wine drunk during dinner and still continued to take some various alcoholic drinks from wherever they could find some. Because of this, they began to get a little more rowdy, playing some light music as they continued to drink.

None of them could be considered drunk but they definitely were on their way there. The abundance of alcohol in the house didn't help either. Although, maybe the way they began to create dares and various other things to get one to drink more than the other was probably a good way of knowing how the night would go.

In the living room sat Canada, his head resting on Prussia's shoulder as he nursed an entire bottle of wine in his hands, refusing to let it go or move from the comfortable couch. Next to him was Prussia who was continuously yawning the more that he drank, his eyes starting to droop down. He gulped beer anytime that he wasn't talking, but that wasn't often either. Adjacent to them sat Germany in the single love seat, drinking beer like his brother but just not as hastily. Although, it was easy to see the alcohol was starting to affect him from how his hair was loose, bangs hanging on his forehead and his face gaining a red tint to it. Italy happily sitting on his lap was another identifier. The Italian was in a similar state as Canada: holding a constantly refilled glass of wine in both hands as it tilted to a side, almost spilling with each movement. He was resting his back against one of the arm rests as his legs dangled off the other. Near them on the other couch was Switzerland who was downing vodka at a surprising speed, slouching a little as he occasionally commented on any topic that came up. To his left was Hungary, the most sober of the group who had taken to a mimosa at some point, rarely drinking from it as she continued to create various topics. Her feet rested on the coffee table, ignoring Germany if he ever told her to get rid of them. Resting on the floor with his back resting against the couch was Austria, the one who was probably the closest to becoming completely drunk. His glasses were on the top of his head as he continuously forgot that he was the one to place them there. His face was flushed and he was starting to loosen up as time went on, even beginning to lose his usual composure.

The fact that none of them were truly beyond drunk was the most amazing part of their group when taking into consideration the amount of drinks they had. Although, it didn't seem like that would last long.

Hungary began to tease Prussia and he continued to yawn. "You need to go to sleep, Gil?"

"What? No, I'm jus-" Yawn. "Just- It's just a little late. It's not my that sleep feels awesome." He rubbed at one eye, trying to look more alert.

Canada chuckled. "You look tired." He took a gulp from the bottle, and after wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he turned to Austria. "Although, Roderich doesn't look like he's doing too good either, huh?" He chuckled once more when Hungary nudged him with a foot.

His words were slurred, the various drinks and current glass of wine in his hand were obvious reason as to why he could barely stand. "I'm co-completely finee..." He hiccuped before he could finish whatever he was about to say.

Italy giggled, a little red as well, but still able to speak better. "Hehe, Roddy has always been a lightweight. Kinda like you Luddy!" He giggled once more before sipping from his glass.

"No-not as much as him." He voice was rough, his movements sluggish as he pointed to Switzerland with a beer bottle still in his grasp.

Currently, after having downed a bottle of vodka in rather impressive time, Switzerland had taken another to keep in his hands, small enough to drink straight from the bottle but big enough to last him. "Justt... Just because of h-him..." He hiccuped as he pointed to Austria. "That doesn't mean that I'm a... a lightweight!" His livid movement and undisguised emotions didn't fool anybody.

Hungary grinned. Clasping her hands together, she gained their attention. "Then what about a competition? See who lasts the longest?" She glanced down. "Well, excluding Roderich."

He tried to argue to show he could handle a drinking contest, but the fact he wanted to willingly join one was enough to know he wouldn't last.

So as he continued to try to show in anyway he could manage, Prussia took out seven shot glasses while Italy and Hungary looked for an appropriate alcohol for their game. After arguing between Irish cream and rum they decided to leave the kitchen with tequila.

Once everyone had a shot glass, and after sitting on the floor and in front of the coffee table, Hungary explained the rules. "Alright. So it's an easy game. We all take shots at once and the winner is the one who lasts the longest without... I don't know... getting completely drunk. Or something along those lines." She started to pour the tequila in each glass, having a few extra bottles as a precaution.

Prussia spoke up. "What does the winner get?"

"Bragging rights."

That was a good enough answer for a game like this.

Austria rested his arms and head on the coffee table as he watched everyone take the first shot. Nothing much happened except for a few odd faces at the unpleasant taste.

Another shot. Nothing yet.

Italy though aloud. "I wonder who'll win."

Another shot.

Prussia smirked. "Me."

Another shot. Then one more.

"Not unless you go to sleep first." Hungary laughed as Prussia tried to stop yawning.

Another shot.

"Nonsense! I'll definitely win." The slur of Switzerland's words didn't help out with what he said.

Two more shots. Then a few more. How many had they done so far?

Well, it was enough to make Switzerland join Austria at the end of the table while Germany began to grow just a little too comfortable with Italy. Currently he had his head resting on the smaller shoulder as he sat behind him while grasping his hips and occasionally lowering his hands to his ass. Italy seemed to have no issue with this as he continued to take the shots with ease. Hungary seemed to have become determined with her own game, forgetting about the picture perfect moment right next to her.

A shot more. Two more. Four more.

Prussia was pretty close to either going to sleep or being completely knocked out. No one seemed to tease at his reason for stopping since everyone else was starting to feel the alcohol in their systems, too. Austria was now completely passed out while Switzerland tried to find somewhere comfortable to lay down. Italy was starting to feel the effects too, easily growing distracted by a completely drunk Germany who was beginning to tease him in between each drink. Prussia stayed to watch, resting on the couch as he focused on the remaining nations trying not to get drunk before the other.

Three bottles gone. A fourth one was opened. Five shots down. A few left to go.

Italy left the game completely at some point between the third and fifth shot when Germany began to move his hands underneath his shirt. They didn't bother leaving, instead of moving they just scooted closer to a couch as they whispered to each other, almost as if they competed to see who would get the other more and more flustered. Hungary took a picture at some point since Prussia could hear a camera flash but wasn't able to locate any kind of physical camera. She seemed to be handling her near drunkenness pretty well but so was Canada and it was rather hard to tell who would win.

The bottle was practically empty, only leaving enough for one shot each.

They both stared at the single shot of tequila as if it was poison.

Making the first move, Canada took the shot. Setting the glass open side down, he waited for Hungary to make her move. Only a second after grabbing the glass did she cover her mouth before running to the downstairs bathroom. Standing up in celebration, Canada kept his balance for a good two seconds before leaning backwards and nearly falling on Prussia. He laid down alongside him, a goofy smile on his face as he continued to verbally celebrate his victory.

"I did it...!" He hiccupped. "I get to br-hic-ag!" He waiting for Prussia to cheer for him.

Yawning, he did what was expected. "That's real great, Mattie. I have to check on Liz, though." He tried to get off the couch without falling down.

"I'll j-hic-oin you!" He grabbed Prussia hand before leading him to the bathroom door, finding Hungary taking some sips of faucet water from her palm.

She turned around slowly and carefully, trying to speak properly as well. Although, the moment she stumbled to the door and leaned against the wall, it was easy to see she was just as hammered as everyone else. "You… you did a goood job…" She turned to Prussia as she gave him a thumbs up. "H-hic-He has my approval…" She returned to the sink to take one more sip of water before leaving the bathroom completely. As the pair trailed behind her, she stumbled into the living room and nudged Austria with her foot. "C'mon… we gotta go…" Realizing he could barely coherently answer, she picked him up and over her shoulder. Then to her right she noticed Switzerland in a similar state. With both of them over her shoulders, she turned around to tell everyone goodbye and goodnight.

This left Prussia and Canada in the living room as they watched Germany and Italy stumble and trip around the furniture and doorway while refusing to stop touching each other. Prussia snickered when they both hit the wall before leaving the room completely and going up the stairs to their bedroom. Yawning, Prussia started to walk to his bedroom in the basement, leading Canada there hand in hand.

After saving the nation from running into many decorative vases and furniture, and after helping him down the flight of stairs the went down to his room, the sight of his bed seemed heavenly to the both of them. Canada was the first one to immediately shuck off his pants and jump into the bed while keeping on his boxers and red hoodie. He laid face down into one of the pillows as he exclaimed how comfortable they were. Although, it was only a few seconds later that he fell asleep completely, rhythmic breathing an easy identifier.

Prussia chuckled at how fast the nation knocked out, but with how he knew that sobriety for himself was pretty far away, he would probably do the same thing the moment he hit the sheets. Changing into a black tank top and after a few tries to put on some flannel pants correctly, he discovered that he put them on wrong after realizing there were to leg holes and not just one, he hopped into bed and let sleep and the warmth of someone next to him put him to sleep.

* * *

Kiku - Japan

Oh my, so this is my longest chapter so far, and they'll be getting longer from here on out. I apologize to anyone who may not like this, but it's the best way for me to improve the story. Each chapter will go over an entire day instead of sectioning it out so this visit won't be too many chapters. As for all of the characters introduced this chapter, I hope I've written their personality correctly, especially for Roderich and Vash whom I've never written before. But they were all fun to write, especially with the little drinking scene here at the end! I remembered that Hima said Prussia got sleepy when he drank so I involved that as well, everyone else was only head canons and assumptions.

If you liked this story please remember to favorite and follow. Reviews on my chapters keep me going and any criticisms improve my writing! I'll see you next chapter!


	27. Tulips

Prussia groaned as he woke up, cracking one eye open while being grateful that his room was vacant of any windows or sources of natural light. He had a burning headache and it wasn't improved when he realized he was face-down on his floor. Turning onto his back, he noticed Canada taking up all the space on his bed and also having claimed most, if not all of the pillows. Resting his head back onto the floor and accepting the pain he felt throbbing in his skull, he looked up and then tried to angle his head to see the time on his alarm clock. It was still morning and the urge to move was still too much for him. But the awful taste in his mouth and grimy feeling on his tongue was enough to make him stand up and head towards his bathroom. He took his time to get to his sink, trying to nurse his headache away, but once he finished brushing his teeth he was pleased that at least the minty fresh feeling in his mouth was a little less disgusting than his usual morning breath. Heading towards his dresser and beginning to get dressed, he heard a thud.

Turning around he found Canada with his legs still on the bed while the rest of his body hung off the edge of the mattress and onto the floor. He seemed to not have completely woken up, but he was murmuring to himself something Prussia couldn't quite hear. Walking towards him he knelt down and tried to nudge his shoulders. Whispering, his own voice too loud for him, he tried to awaken the nation. "Mattie... c'mon Mattie... Birdie, I need you to wake up." He shook his shoulder a little more. "Birdie, you need to move." With his headache maybe it wouldn't be possible to get any urge to move the nation, so leaving him be in the odd position, Prussia returned to getting dressed.

After putting on his clothing, feeding Gilbird, and getting distracted by his social websites and blog, he could hear Canada finally waking up. Looking up from his phone screen, he saw him rubbing at his eyes while moving slowly and carefully. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the natural darkness of the basement and he easily found his ground after only a few moments. In this time, Prussia walked towards him and kneeled down once more.

"How've you been?"

A whine was his only response.

"Ready to go out into the light and see everyone else's hangovers?"

A shrug was another response. "If I have to." He stood up carefully and looked down at himself. "After I get dressed..." He looked around. "Hey, where's my luggage?" He groaned a little as his hangover began to come on strong.

Prussia groaned as he realized where it was. "Probably near the stairs. I'll run and get it for you."

As he walked up his the few stairs he needed to climb, he prepared himself for the possibility of being permanently blinded once he would see the sun's light in their house. Opening the door just a crack, and then a little more to look around, he realized nobody was even on the main floor. Using this chance to walk around without needing to see anybody, he speed walked towards the main staircase and grabbed both his and Canada's luggage easily and swiftly. He returned to his basement, and after being very grateful that it lacked sunlight he walked down the stairs and handed a bag to Canada.

He knelt down and opened up his luggage on the spot, moving carefully as he talked himself through his strong and bothersome headache. Giving a quiet 'whoop' in joy after finding his toothbrush and some clothing, he headed into the bathroom while Prussia directed him to it. In the meantime, Prussia began to organize his bedroom and set up his bed. Although the moment he finished that he had to resist the idea of cleaning up Canada's disorganized luggage.

After he heard the northern nation leave the bathroom, they walked towards the stairs. Still slightly whispering to the best of his ability, Prussia lead him up the stairs and stood in front of the door. "Are you ready to see the sun?"

Canada stared back at him as if it pained him to even try to think. "No."

Shrugging, Prussia still opened the door. "Yeah, but all the food is in the kitchen." Walking around the halls, he looked around. "Although, I don't think anyone else is here."

Canada silently nodded as they walked into the kitchen. Surprised when they found Liechtenstein already there.

Turning around, she happily greeted them. "Good morning." The two of them were very happy that she had lowered her voice, clearly fully knowledgeable of what occurred last night. "Would you two like some coffee?" A warm mug of the drink was held in her hands.

Canada was the first to take the hot jug and pour some for himself into a nearby mug. Prussia decided against it and instead began to scour the fridge and pantry for anything that seemed appetizing. As he turned his back to the entrance, he heard a whine and a few footsteps on the tiled floor.

Turning his head, he saw Austria looking completely miserable and very, very tired to say the least. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair before yawning. "Good morning." It didn't look all that good to him.

Getting greeted by everyone present, he poured himself some warm coffee. Finding a spot by Canada who was resting his back against one of the marble counters, he did the same as he tried to let his hangover leave him on it's own. Tilting his head up while looking at the ceiling, he interrupted their silence. "I've heard that for humans this can last up to an entire day or even more. Imagine that."

Prussia stood up and looked into the fridge once more. "Is this where the whole 'nation' thing comes in handy?"

"Well, I've seen you get over hangovers in record time before."

"Yeah, but I'll never do it as easily as you guys." He silently praised himself as he found an appetizing enough cereal box in their cupboards. Taking out a bowl and some milk, he continued the conversation. "And I don't think I've ever even seen you get drunk." Pouring himself a good amount of cereal and milk into the bowl, he grabbed a spoon and rested against the counters where Liechtenstein was.

Pushing up his glasses up the bridge of his noise, Austria sighed. "Yes, and I hope that it may never happen again. I've never been one to succumb to alcohol so easily, either." He sighed once more before being interrupted by laughter and a snort.

Walking immediately towards Liechtenstein, and after she passed him some coffee, Switzerland spoke. Although, as he did, the faintest smile could be seen. "I've seen you drink more beer than Ludwig and Gilbert combined. Of course, you could've drunk more if you hadn't passed out first…" He contemplated the possibility while Austria stared at him completely insulted.

"I will have you know that I very rarely drink!" He straightened his back as he stood. "I am not one to drink so easily and constantly become a drunkard. I am not Gilbert!" He exclaimed as he pointed to the man with a mouthful of sugary fruit flavored oats shoveled into his mouth.

"Hey!" He nearly choked on his spoonful of cereal before grumbling to himself.

While Switzerland only mused towards Austria's reaction and Canada rushed to lightly pat Prussia's back before he could choke anymore on his breakfast, Hungary entered the scene while seemingly having heard the entire conversation. Pouring herself some coffee and adding some cream she walked up to Austria and leaned against him.

Sighing, she spoke. "I hate to break it to you, but you drink. A lot." She sipped on her coffee as he stared at her with the same look he had given to Switzerland.

"I do not drink that much!" He was beginning to lose his calm and collected facade, but it was a good source of entertainment for everyone else's morning. "I believe I would remember if I ever drank as much beer or alcohol as Vash states that I do." He crossed his arms while letting each finger tap along them.

"Do you ever wake up without much memory of the night before? Maybe even waking up somewhere but you're not sure how you got there?"

"Yes, on the occasion, I suppose."

"Do you ever sometimes wonder why there's an awful taste in your mouth and the sun kinda hurts your eyes."

"A few times..."

"Honey," She calmly laid a hand on his shoulder. "You were drunk." She returned to her coffee and began to strike up a conversation with Canada before Austria could try to come up with any kind of reason as to why he could feel like that. To compensate, she left him a kiss on his cheek before leaving him completely. Getting comfortable, she started to talk. "Well, I've never known anyone who could out drink me so I'll give you your 'congrats' right now."

"Oh, well, thank you very much Miss Eliz-"

"You don't have to call me 'miss'."

"A-Ah. Yes, sorry. Thank you again, Elizaveta." He smiled brightly, taking in the compliment completely.

As he basked in glory, Hungary turned to Prussia. "So how was the night in bed for the two of you?" She grinned as she asked her question.

"We passed out the moment we saw my bed."

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders with a smile. She hadn't expected much anyway. "Same here. And I remember so did everyone else when I dropped them off to their rooms. Although, aren't we missing a few people?"

As if answering their questions, Italy entered the kitchen looking completely exhausted. He poured himself two mugs of coffee and headed back out the kitchen, except he was stopped halfway out by Hungary.

"Hey, Feli. You okay?"

He yawned. "Yeah. Things just got weird last night."

She lightly tapped his shoulder. "Ooh. Spill. What happened?"

He blushed a little, but didn't care about what he said. "Well, all I remember was we went upstairs and we did... something... I think, and then I'm pretty sure we passed out somewhere in between all of that." He began to chuckle after drinking some coffee. "But right now Luddy doesn't feel too good so he's still upstairs and won't be down here for a while."

"Jeez. He's that bad?" It would surprise anyone if Germany didn't get out of bed before the sun rose. "Send him my best regards and that if he needs anything I can get it for him."

Nodding, Italy headed back into the halls and towards their shared room as Hungary returned to the kitchen. In time she was able to start her own conversation with everyone, but it still mostly consisted of asking Canada various questions of his life back in his nation since most of them were still very curious of him. The questions were beginning to become only a little more intrusive, although not to any extreme.

Yet.

But, for the moment, they were now able to stop asking him what his favorite color was and were now able to ask him about what his usual day could be like and even hinting about his own 'family'. Even for the moment, Canada was busy answering questions concerning his brother.

"He doesn't visit often since he usually is pretty busy with paperwork if he isn't just goofing around, but he does like to visit me and do things like camping in my mountains. He's all about surviving the wilderness and proving that he's 'manly' but he still gets kinda scared by the shadows the trees make at night." He immediately clasped his hand over his mouth. Lowering it, he spoke again. "I never said that."

"Well, I think we all knew that after watching scary movies with him." Liechtenstein chuckled, and a few more joined in because they could all attest to that.

Austria spoke up. "Well, aside from your brother, do any others visit you frequently? Besides Gilbert, of course."

Prussia's head perked up as he looked at Canada, curious himself.

"Well, a lot of people who visit me are usually too busy with their own things and can't do it too often, so there can be times when I'm not exactly sure when I'll be able to talk to them outside of meetings." He peered into his coffee mug for a moment before lifting his head once more, a soft smile on his face. "But Mogens always likes to make sure he visits. While there are his usual random visits that we make whenever we can, there's also the Annual Tulip Festival that we celebrate together because he always likes to visit me in person to give me a little bouquet before he needs to go. It's always such a sweet gesture." A gentle blush made his cheeks warm. He always enjoys Netherland's company.

So many questions went through everybody's minds as they heard that such a quiet and usually intimidating man would be kind enough to present flowers at a minimum of an annual tradition. Who knows how many other times he had given him gifts like that? It was definitely something that none of them could've imagined.

As a multitude of questions popped up in their minds, Liechtenstein interrupted their thoughts, "He doesn't stay?"

"No. It's always quick visits those days and since it takes a while to drive to where I live he doesn't have any time for anything else left." He sighed, his smile still bright. "But, I guess that's also because it takes a few hours to get to and from my house if you're coming from the city."

"Does anyone else give you gifts this big?" Hungary was finally able to regain her thoughts. "I mean, it's a little surprising since Mogens isn't the most... uhmm... well, there's a reason people say to go dutch." Her sentence didn't do well at making him sound any less of a cheapskate.

Canada chuckled, well aware of how frugal the nation could be. "Well, he started giving them to me personally whenever he'd see me out of habit and always saying it's really easy for him to get tulips."

"Probably for free." Switzerland murmured.

Liechtenstein smacked his shoulder lightly at his remark.

Canada continued as if he hadn't heard the side comment. "But aside from that he doesn't do very much gift wise." He shrugged a little, having very little to say left.

Everyone else seemed satisfied with his story of Netherland's friendliness, of course Hungary had more questions but she figured anything like that could be a little more personal.

"It's a shame though that he isn't here. We had invited him but he said he was too busy." She glanced at one of the house phones hooked up to the wall. "We could always call him..." Her tone was a little bit teasing.

Canada became a little flustered, but it was easy to see that he looked forward to the idea. "W-well I would love to see him again. But I'm not sure he would like to bothered if he really is that busy."

"Yeah!" Prussia cleared throat, surprising even himself with his outburst. "I mean, if the guy said he's busy, then he's busy." He shrugged his shoulders, returning to his cereal as if he never yelled.

"If he ends up visiting on his own, then it's fine, but I wouldn't want him to feel pressured to come."

Hungary simple waved his words off. "Don't worry! It'll be fine! You said it yourself that he barely ever sees you, so he'll love to know you want to see him again!" She headed to the phone, only to go to the one in the living room instead. "I'll be back in a moment."

Sighing in defeat, Canada leaned back onto the counter. "Does she always do this?"

"Yes." Everyone spoke in unison.

* * *

The rest of the morning was rather normal, aside from Hungary and later Liechtenstein urging Canada to invite Netherlands. It only took a little bit of time when Germany and Italy were able to join everyone in the kitchen, all of them unanimously deciding to simply stand around in there and chat. Of course, this also lead to them trying to figure out what the plan for the day should actually be. It actually became rather heated, many of the nations trying to prove how their idea of a trip for the day was better the other options.

Austria spoke. "I still say that we should stay here in Berlin."

"But why not show him something aside the capital of a nation." Germany stated.

"Clearly if we're going that route then we might as well not stay in Germany." Switzerland crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Why not show him all the other countries nearby?"

"Why not just let me choose what to do? I'm great at planning things!" Prussia lied through his teeth.

Austria scoffed. "You've decided enough visits. Just let us do this."

Canada watched from the sidelines as he noticed Prussia nearly visibly deflate at how he was now shoved out of the decision making for the day. Comforting him with a few pats to his back, he stared at the bickering group a little longer. "They know I'm right here, right? They don't have to refer to me in the third person."

"If you're not actively speaking then you aren't here."

"Well, I would've loved to hear what you want to take me to."

"I was thinking of doing more touristy stuff and walk around and really see shit since we didn't do that last time. I thought you would like something like that." He grinned. "And plus I'd be able to take more photos of us! Just like you promised...!" He took out his phone and wiggled it a little in his hand.

"I like walking around and seeing the sights but I can assure you I won't be caught in a single photo."

"Oh yeah?" His grin grew. "How 'bout a little wager?"

Canada glanced at the phone, then at the group of nations once more. "I'm listening."

"How about when we're out if I can take a genuinely good photo of you without being caught then you have to actually take photos with all of us." He tapped on his phone screen a little. "And if you do the same to me before I can to you then you don't have to take any more photos if you don't want to."

"Hmm, alright. But doesn't one photo sound too little? Shouldn't there be more?"

"How 'bout whoever has the most before we come back here."

Canada thought about it for a moment. "Your odd little wager has been accepted."

The two smiled in agreement as Austria spoke up, walking towards Canada.

"We've decided to take you around a few tourists spots, if you would like. You said you never are able to do many things here when you come for meetings so would you like to do so for once?"

"Of course, I'd love to. Gil had mentioned it a while ago and I loved the idea."

Austria seemed surprised at the little comment, but did his best not to show it. "Well, at least we have some confirmed plans." He headed back to Germany and Switzerland before Prussia could get a single word in.

"Do you think he'll tell them you had their plan all along?"

"Doubt it, but thanks."

"No problem. You should get your thoughts heard. They're pretty 'awesome' you know." He snickered before heading off to talk to Hungary and Liechtenstein as they called for his attention.

Before Prussia could walk over to either group and join their conversation, he heard Canada gasp.

"He's coming!?" Wait, what? Who? "I thought Mogens didn't have enough time!" Oh.

Hungary and Liechtenstein had wide smiles on their faces as Canada's eyes lit up with excitement. They spoke in turns, Hungary going first. "Well, when we told him-" "That you wanted to see him again," "He told us that he didn't have enough time this week-" "Because of a couple of meetings." "But! He called us again-" "And said that he worked something out with Benoit an-" "And he said that he had enough time to come!" Liechtenstein clasped her hands together as Hungary took out her phone to show him the texts he had sent to confirm his arrival.

Getting the text history onto her screen, she moved to show Canada all the info they had. As each second grew it was easy to see that he wasn't trying to hide any excitement. But, he did realize something.

"He never said when he's coming."

At this, Liechtenstein wrung her wrists. "Well… he never really promised an exact time… but…"

"At least we know that he's coming!" Hungary intervened, doing her best to not disappoint the nation.

His slouch returned a little at the news, but the shine in his eyes refused to vanish. "That's fine. Afterall, he probably has a lot of difficulty making some time for a visit so last minute." He smiled a little less brightly and proceeded to change the topic before they pushed his feelings towards the visit any further.

In the meantime, since their plans for the day were now fully planned and up to their standards, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland went ahead and began to prepare their car for the ride ahead of them.

* * *

"Here we are!" Hungary singsonged as her arms were raised in the air while motioning to a few buildings here and there.

Gilbert was just as ecstatic and as enthusiastic as Hungary appeared. "Woohoo! C'mon, Mattie! We gotta get you to go see everything!"

The two went ahead of the group to find whatever it was that they were looking for. Nobody was really too sure what it was. The rest of them were distracted by pointed out things to Canada as often as they could, simultaneously. It didn't look too odd in such a tourist packed place but it was still something that could be looked at as laughable, especially with how Germany and Austria were acting towards each other with Switzerland occasionally joining in. The main two were trying to gain Canada's attention the most though.

"Now, Matthew, I would strongly suggest to going over here first. It's a lovely building tha-"

"Except I think he would love to look at this, first. Since it _is_ my ow-"

"Even if it is your own, how do you know if Matthew truly likes it or no-"

Switzerland was cut off when Germany tried to speak of his own opinion. Again.

From the moment everyone left the house, the only thing the trio did was bicker and argue over what to show Matthew first during his trip in Berlin. In between showing him the Brandenburg Gate and the Charlottenburg Palace they took Liechtenstein's advice of walking around the city and simply going to the first thing they saw that was interesting. Except this lead to parking issues when everyone wanted to park closest to what was their idea of interesting. In the end they ended up Gendarmenmarkt while looking at the little shops that were still open. It wasn't eventful, but the day was young and they still weren't sure about the agenda of the day.

In the meantime, Canada and Liechtenstein were conversing as she glanced at some handmade jewelry being sold.

"They always change what they sell every time I visit." She held a necklace in her hands, holding the large trinket in her palm. "But no matter what, I always end up buying something." She set the necklace back on the rack it was from and continued to looked at the other jewelry for sale as Canada did the same.

"Well, the stuff they sell is pretty gorgeous." He glanced at a large, violet pendant. He pointed at it. "I think this would look good on you."

"It reminds me of your eyes." A gruff and somewhat deep voice spoke from behind.

Canada's eyes opened wide, surprised by the comment. "Excuse me, I-" Turning around, the first thing he saw was a blue and white scarf. "Mogens!?"

"Hello, Matthew." The man's stern facade was broken by his gently upturned lips. "It's good to see you agai-oomph!" He was cut short by Matthew hugging him tightly for only a moment or two.

"I can't believe you're here!" He released Netherlands from his grip and looked up at him excitedly. "It's been such a long time!"

Chuckling, he spoke. "Well, I've had many meetings to attend to and I suppose the work of a nation is never done. Of course, there are occasions when I can spend time with others." Adjusting his scarf, he glanced over at Liechtenstein. "Hello."

"Hello." She looked around, and with a knowing smile she started to walk away. "I'll look for Vash, Matthew. I'll be only a moment." She speed walked off before either could even say 'goodbye'.

Flustered and overwhelmed with his friend's appearance, Canada was unsure how to begin a conversation. He moved his weight from one foot to the other as he looked up at the nation. His smile was goofy compared to the barely seen smile on Netherlands face, but he didn't really care. After all, it's been such a long time since they'd seen each other. "How'd you even know we were here? Everyone's been fighting to figure out where to go."

"Well, actually, I had gotten a te-"

"Hey, Birdie!" Prussia could be seen lightly jogging to reach him, unaware of who he was talking to. "We were just looking around and…" He slowed down to a walking pace when he noticed Mogens.

"Sorry for leaving you behind, sweetie." Hungary wasn't far behind either. "We got a bit caught up with each other is all!"

"Speaking of the devil herself…" He smirked just the tiniest bit when Canada nudged him at the sound of his comment. Netherlands turned his body slightly, enough to face the two running up to them as his usual frown returned to his face.

Hungary had an unimaginably bright smile as she realized who accompanied Canada. "Guess you were able to show up!" She teased, ignoring the glare she received. "I didn't think you would make it today. Looks like I'm not the only one pleasantly surprised though."

Prussia simply stayed silent and a little distant. He was doing his damn best to realize the situation he was in. Sure, he didn't hate Netherlands per say, and of course he was fine with Canada spending some time with someone he was close with alongside him, but… there was definitely a little twinge of something strong in his chest as he saw the little glances and smiles the two gave to each other.

Hungary leaned in close to him. "Jealousy isn't a good look for anyone, you know."

"What?" He didn't bother whispering. The other two were busy with their own conversation.

"C'mon, I know that look. You're jealous!" She nudged him with her elbow before he moved his shoulder away. "I mean, then again, if I saw someone this close to _my _crush, I can't really blame you." She looked away, pretending to be distracted by some trinkets nearby.

His eyes widened at the assumption. He grabbed onto her shoulder, being dragged to the little shop. "What are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes as she hold a pair of earrings. "You can drop the act, Gil. You've never been the best at hiding how you feel and you've been showing every little tell sign I can think of."

"That's impossible."

"Denial." She pointed out.

"He's my friend, of course I'll be close to him."

"Overprotection." She set the earrings down.

"I mean, I just don't even trust that guy. No way can someone be that close to him."

"Envy." Glancing at the price tag of a little hair clip, she rummaged through her purse.

"But then again, the kid is so sweet, of course people will want to be with him…"

Taking out some bills, she paid the merchant. "Admiration."

"Will you stop?"

"Irritation." She laughed as she leaned on the table with her elbow, the clip safely tucked away in her pocket.

"Whatever. I'm just saying that maybe Mogens is a suspicious person." Hungary started at him. He raised his hands up in defense. "You never know! The only thing I could trust him with would be money or a rabbit or something." He stared at the pair of nations only a few feet away, a pout growing on his face in the meantime.

"Well staring isn't gonna make him melt Gil." Prussia turned his head away in embarrassment. "And moping about it isn't gonna do anything either. You've got some competition, and I hate to break it to you, but Mogens is in the lead."

"What lead?" He tucked his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "What competition? You don't even know if he likes him that way or not."

"Doesn't matter. If you want to stay ahead, do you what you did when we were kids!"

He stared blankly at her. "Decapitate any enemies that come my way and force others to convert to Christianity?"

She sighed. "Close enough." Returning her wallet to her purse she continued. "What I meant was to keep fighting for survival!

He paused. "I'm listening..."

"It's easy. Just spend more time with him and do stuff he likes."

"What do you think we've been doing everytime I've visited him?" He commented off to the side under his breath, "And what makes you think I even like him that way?"

"You're right. And since Mogens is pretty close to him too, he's on pretty even ground with you. Then again..." She sneered.

"What?"

Hungary laughed through her answer. "You could always just start to give him some flowers everyday." She smiled at the pair. "Pfft. As if you would even..." Looking around, Prussia had run off, "Try."

* * *

"Alright, so… flowers…"

With his hands in his pockets he walked around the shops. Since the gang was still walking around and talking to Canada, Prussia didn't worry too much about him being alone. And he always had Mogens for company…

Anyway, he shouldn't be thinking about him, what he should be thinking of is how he can find flowers during winter. Did they even grow? Should he ask someone? Then again he might come off as an idiot. Shouldn't this answer be obvious? Why did he even come up with this idea, anyway? Well, really, Hungary had been the one to, but still…

"Flowers…?" He sighed.

This wasn't going anywhere.

He ran a hand through his hair. Even if the flowers were a bust, and it was beginning to look like they were, what did he even plan to do to give them to Canada?

He walked around the shops a little more, murmuring to himself in the meantime. "Hey, just meant to get you these flowers because I have no idea what to do with my feelings and I'm desperate now..." Well, that doesn't really work. "So... you and me. Date?" Very smooth. He was starting to get frustrated. "Why don't you ditch the tulips and go for 'awesome' instead?"

He paused as he passed a mirror, staring at his reflection."Pfft... as if..."

This was gonna be a lot harder than he thought.

* * *

Benoit - Luxembourg

Long time, no see! Yeah so turns out I've been gone for almost 3 months and I hadn't even realized. School has been overwhelming for me this year and I've concentrated on keeping my grades high which in turn has exhausted me incredibly. It's gotten difficult to keep my creative flow, but since 'no school November' is coming up and there'll be a lot of holidays off from school which will give me a lovely break from stress. Now, for the story, I never really planned to introduce Mogens, at least this early or this important in the plot, but it'll speed things up slightly in a good way.

As for my completion, we have a winner for the 100th reviewer mark! I'll be posting their requested story in a little bit so that you can also have an idea what a winners story will be like. Theres still a spot open for the follower mark and the favorite mark so keep an eye out for a spot!

Reviews always keep me going and are always fun to read! See you guys later!


	28. Car Rides

Prussia sighed. He ran a hand through his messy locks once more.

"What was I even trying to do?"

He was sitting down on a nearby bench while texting the others for their locations. He ran around like idiot trying to find something to impress Canada just at the slightest suggestion that there was some type of competition. What competition did he even think was going on when he could barely hug the nation without blushing?

Has he even come to fully accept the fact that he may actually like the nation enough to really be doing any of this? Sure, he might've realized it at some point, but is he even okay with it? It's the first friend he gotten close to this fast and he knows he doesn't even want to risk losing any of that, but wouldn't it be just as bad living like this every day?

The temptation to brush this off and just never really think too hard about it was so tempting and definitely something he's been guilty of these past months. Although, now wasn't the best time to do it either. There probably would never be and he would just need to make time on his own.

Hunched over, he rested his elbows on his knees and his cheek in a palm. He absentmindedly stared at people walking by and running around with their friends and family as they shopped at each little shop.

Where even was his family? He couldn't have run that far off.

"Gil?"

Turning to his left, he saw Canada calling out to him.

He stopped short of crashing into the bench before losing his balance for a moment. "There you are!" He chuckled, covering his mouth slightly with a gloved hand. "I didn't think I'd find you! Everyone told me to look for you, which in retrospect probably wasn't the best idea since I barely know the place..." He shrugged, finding a cozy spot right next to Prussia.

Shoulders and knees almost touching, Prussia was a little flustered. He tried not to concentrate too much on that though. Instead, he should concentrate on how Canada seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

"So where's the rest of the gang then? How 'bout Mogens? I thought he'd be near you." Ignoring the feeling of relief when he realized Canada really had come _alone_, he rested his face on the palm of his cheek once more.

Tugging on the edge of his scarf, he answered. "Well, Hun- I mean, Elizaveta had insisted on talking to him about something I'm not even sure of, but while she did that you sent the text to everyone and Au- Roderich decided to send me at the last minute." He stared straight ahead, not too focused on anything before returning his attention to Prussia, his voice having gone a little softer than usual. "But before I left I heard her say something about you looking for something for someone?"

His eyes widened and he swallowed harshly. "Y-yeah? She mention any name?"

"Well, no, not really. While it's safe to assume they're a nation, I'm pretty much in the dark about it." He nudged Prussia's shoulder with his own while he smiled slyly. "Gonna tell me who it is?"

"Nah, I think it's better off you not knowing."

"Aww, c'mon, if I know them I might even be able to help you out."

"How about another time?"

Pouting slightly, Canada pretended to be irritated. "Fine, fine." Deciding to leave the topic be, he changed it. "So what were you even looking for?"

Prussia shrugged as he leaned back. "Self esteem."

"You're kidding me. You're like the perfect cover boy for self esteem."

"Yeah, sure, I'd say 'no' but I feel like this should be a more private conversation. Don't you agree?"

"Mm... maybe. Although don't think I'll forget about this. And, if it means anything, and if it really is towards that one person Hung-Elizaveta mentioned, I think they would be idiot to not want to be with you." He nudged him once more, one hand resting dangerously close to Prussia's own. "But that's just my opinion.

Prussia was silent. He genuinely had no words to say, too taken aback by Canada's own to even know what to reply with.

"U-um..." He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping his face wasn't actually as warm as he thought it was. "Yeah... u-um... thanks." He did his best to smile as wide as he usually did. "Means a lot."

"No problem. You're cooler than you might think you are." He stood up and stretched his arms. "Now, c'mon, we gotta go find everyone."

Prussia saw a glimpse of Canada's phone and was reminded of something. Whipping out his own, he angled it just right. "Birdie?"

Turning around, he smiled at him. "Yeah?"

"Say 'cheese'." With a tap of his phone he took a gorgeous photo of Canada, almost having completely forgotten of the competition the two had.

Blushing, he was flustered after getting caught on camera so easily. "G-Gil!" He fumbled as he dug through his pockets to find his phone. "That's not fair!" He unlocked it and fumbled to find an angle. "And didn't you say something about not letting the other see!?" He snapped a picture quickly.

Prussia shrugged as he shoved his phone in his pocket. "Who knows? But I do know that I'll win." He winked at the nation before walking ahead of him. "Now c'mon, you gotta show me where everyone is."

* * *

The sun was already starting to set by the time they finally found the rest of the group. It wasn't late enough for them to need to return home, but lots of plans needed to be canceled. But, since they had been piled on without thought, it was to be expected. In the end they walked around the various streets and stores, enjoying the sights and sounds. While walking Canada remained rather close to Netherlands, talking about anything that interested him and it was easy to see the other was all ears to listen.

Now, was Prussia jealous?

Well, he definitely would've liked to listen to Canada talk to _him_. Especially with the way his eyes would shine if he talked about his interests. Then there was also the way he was someone who seemed to initiate contact most, if not all of the time. Prussia had no issue with any of that, he rather liked the closeness he felt when they talked, but then again seeing that happen with someone else the Canadian was close to… well…

"Jealous…" Hungary whispered close to his ear, giggling when he swatted her away.

He hissed at her. "Shut up." He huffed, fixing one of his leather gloves. "Why'd you invite him anyway if you thought I'd be jealous."

"To prove a point."

"Such as?"

"How much you care for him. It's pretty sweet, actually." She glanced at Canada while sighing rather dreamily with an exaggerated expression. "He's out of your league, though."

Prussia sputtered out any retort he could think of, but just mumbled out random words in defeat. Shrugging and sighing once more, he stared straight ahead at the streets and passing people. "Probably, but that doesn't mean a guy can't try." He sighed. "Right?"

Hungary's expression softened, her words less sharp than usual. "Jeez… It's hit you hard, huh?"

Prussia simply chuckled dryly. "Am I _that_ transparent?"

"Listen," Hungary sighed and mumbled to herself. "... Can't believe I'm actually doing this…"

"What?"

"Nothing. Look, I'm kinda rusty with this but I can see that that sweetheart over there who you won't stop thinking of means a lot to you, right?" Prussia nodded hesitantly. "Ok, well, I guess you've just gained a wingman… woman… whatever, the point is that I'm gonna help you out."

"You, the woman obsessed with gay romance manga that I've personally seen and have seen Kiku give you, is gonna try to give me romantic advice."

"The storylines are good, ok!?" She huffed. "Do you want help or not? This offer _does_ have an expiration date."

Prussia sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I get that you want to help and I get that you pushing my brother and Feli together worked and the occasional couple here and there, but what makes you think," He gestured to the air in front of him. "that this, _any_ of this will work?" He sighed again. "I just don't want to loose anything, y'unno? He's a real sweet kid and honestly I don't want to weird him out or anything just 'cause of something this stupid."

"You really care about him that much?"

"Well, he's the type of person you don't want to lose y'unno. He's someone who's experienced his own wars and battles but he doesn't show it. He always goes on with this type of kindness that is_ just_ enough that it doesn't feel like he's being ignorant of our history or trying to tiptoe around anything, but he doesn't let that define any relationships with _anybody_. He's gone against other nations and he's fought against us, hell, he could've completely ignored Ludwig any time they met or acted weird around him, but instead he's just as kind as ever." He rubbed his hands togethers as he tried to warm them. "He kinda makes me wanna better myself in this weird, silent encouraging way."

Hungary stayed silent for only a moment. "And you're sure you don't want help or something? Now you've got me rooting for you after your little speech." She smiled at him, fully enamoured with his actions.

He flustered. "Shut up." He stuff his hands back into his pockets. "And I'll be fine. I've dealt with this before, I'll deal with it again!" He grinned boyishly at her before calling for the attention of his younger brother.

Hungary watched him head off. "... Before?"

* * *

The day was over before they even realized it. Honestly, the one thing they ended up agreeing on by the end of the day was that it was too short. As they walked to the parking lot they all ended up believing they would all be able to fit in a car that was designed for only six maybe seven people if they crowded against each other. This, of course, didn't stop them from trying.

Arrangements had to be decided and after letting Germany take the wheel, his argument being that it _was_ his car after all, and letting Italy take shotgun they realized they would need to squeeze in. With a huff and a puff Austria ended up sitting on Hungary's lap as Liechtenstein did the same with Switzerland. An awkward moment was taken as the remaining three nations realized one would have to sit on the other. Getting caught up in a ridiculous game of rock paper scissors Switzerland ended up becoming a little impatient and simply demanded for them to sit so that they could get home.

Which was what also explained why Prussia regret his decision of getting into the car after Netherlands and before Canada. The door was slammed closed before he even realized Canada would end up sitting on his lap, Netherlands simply sitting too far away for it to be him. In a way, this could be a blessing in disguise since now he needed to hold on to those soft hips to make sure any sharp turn wouldn't have him fly off, but then again… these roads were _really_ uneven.

He did his best to steel his nerves when they hit a few rough patches, trying to focus on the buildings he'd seen thousands of times as well as trying to figure out if he actually heard Netherlands try to hold back a snort when they went flying up for a moment at a sudden dip.

"Hey, Gil?"

Prussia barely heard his name being spoken since it was garbled due to the radio having been turned on as well as the conversations throughout the car. "Um, yeah, Birdie?"

"You alright?"

No. "Yeah. 'Course. Why?"

"You look kinda tense." He did his best to turn his body to look at him a little better. "I'll be fine. You don't have to hold on so tightly." He chuckled as the grip loosened.

"Right, sorry."

Canada smiled in reply. Then they hit a sharp turn and he almost hit his forehead on the window while sliding off his lap. He fixed his glasses as he grabbed onto the seat in front of him to keep balance. "M-Maybe you _should_ grab on."

"Good plan."

Netherlands leaned down close to his ear. "Yeah. _Good plan_." He whispered before his hand could smack him away.

This was going to be a long ride.

* * *

Hey you guys. So I can't really say much for such a short chapter. I haven't been able to write in a while and I've been struggling with a slump as well as trying to figure out school and raise my grades. I need to prepare for my ACT and SAT exams which have been stressing me out. I've felt rather guilty on not giving you guys any chapters recently, but I don't want you guys to think I've abandoned this story so all I can really give for the moment is this.

I have not forgotten about my winners, so please understand that I still am writing them. I also have a new winner, Mou13, who I will be messaging later.

I would give you guys a promise for a better chapter, which I plan on making, but I figure you're tired of hearing all of these promises.

A review is always appreciated and makes my day just a little better!


	29. Update (I'm not dead!)

Don't panic!

I have not abandoned this story and I don't think I ever will since Hetalia is the only thing that's ever interested me to the point of reading and writing Fanfiction.

I will, though, be taking a month long (extra?) hiatus to fix my earlier chapters. As Hima-papa whips out more and more comics I find that my head canons for Matthew and Gilbert have changed quite a bit and I find myself struggling to write a new chapter that follows my old head canons since I no longer believe in them (and also when I look at my older chapters it makes me cringe).

There's also the issue that some of my chapters had been writing solely to give you guys something to read which I feel simply isn't right because I KNOW that you guys deserve better than that. So look forward to having genuine chapters that actually go somewhere. I also might just alter a few chapters to put them together instead of dividing them so much and making them unnecessarily choppy.

If you guys have any questions just shoot me a PM and I'll gladly answer (and I wouldn't mind beta's as well).

Until 10th of July, I won't be updating, but I do hope that this small update has calmed some of you readers who've wondered if I've abandoned this story (or the fandom).

Until next time!


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